II Chronicles 27:1 – 28:27

July 19, 2014

Jotham becomes king. "(He) became powerful, because he always obeyed the LORD his God." He not only started well, but he finished well too. But then Ahaz becomes king and it's a completely different story. (You can read more about Ahaz in II Kings 16 and Isaiah 7.)

Because Ahaz refused to follow God's ways, the LORD handed him over to the king of Aram. God also handed him over to Pekah the king of Israel because Ahaz (Judah) had left the LORD. Disaster happened to them and they were taken captive by their own relatives. A prophet of the LORD met the Israelite army when they returned from the battle. He told them: Look, God is the one who handed the people (Ahaz/Judah) to you because he was angry with them. But God has seen the cruel way you have treated them and killed them. Now you plan to make your own relatives your slaves. This should not be! You yourselves have sinned against God. "Now listen to me. Send back your brothers and sisters whom you captured because the LORD is very angry with you."

The people of Israel listened and sent the people of Judah back to their homeland.

Ahaz witnessed all of this but still did not change. The Edomites attacked Judah. Did Ahaz turn to God for help? No. He goes to the king of Assyria. The Philistines also attacked Judah. All this happened because Ahaz (Judah) was unfaithful to the LORD. The LORD caused it to happen. In all his troubles, Ahaz turned even farther away from God. He gathered things from the temple; he broke them; and he closed the temple doors. Why is it some people just don't seem to "get-it"? They keep turning away from God instead of turning to God?

God does not tolerate continued disobedience. The longer you refuse to surrender your will to HIS will, the harder it becomes repent.


Next Entry: II Chronicles 29:1 – 32:23

II Chronicles 16:1 – 19:3 (Continued)

July 15, 2014

Jehoshaphat (king of Judah), became entwined with Ahab (king of Israel) because his son married Ahab's daughter. Ahab—who rarely followed God's teachings; and Jehoshaphat—who followed God's teaching. In Jane's (Her Name Was Jane) Bible she has written: danger ahead. Indeed. When you align yourself with those who are not like-minded with you, there is danger ahead.

Jehoshaphat knew he was going against God's commands, but he did it anyways.

Ahab wants to go to war and he wants Jehoshaphat to join him. Jehoshaphat wants to make sure it is God's will. Ahab just wants to do what he wants to do. He has a group of 400 "prophets" that will tell him whatever he wants to hear. Ahab despises the one prophet who is honest about what God wants. Jehoshaphat wants to hear what the LORD'S prophet has to say. Micaiah (the Lord's prophet) says—don't do it. Don't go to war. Your plans won't work. In fact, what you don't understand is this: God is fed up with your refusal to follow his teachings. You think those 400 men are just telling you what you want to hear. Wrong. They are being used by God to fool you into going into battle because of your refusal to submit to His authority. Ahab became angry. He refused to listen, and put Micaiah in jail. Ahab (in his typical arrogant fashion) said to only give Micaiah bread and water until he returned safe from the battle. Micaiah replied, "If you come back safely" then the LORD hasn't spoken through me.

"Remember my words, all you people."

So, Ahab does what Ahab wants to do and he goes into battle. But Ahab wasn't completely confident in his victory. Somewhere in the back of his mind there was some doubt and fear. So he tells Jehoshaphat to wear his royal clothes, but Ahab wore other clothes so no one would recognize him. How nice of him. He set up his "friend" as a means to protect himself. Ahab's plan most likely would have worked, but God stepped in and intervened. The only person the king of Aram wanted was Ahab. When they saw Jehoshaphat in royal clothing they were ready to attack him. But Jehoshaphat shouted, "... and the LORD helped him." And then, by chance, (God) a soldier shot a random arrow and it struck Ahab between his pieces of armor. Ahab was dead by sunset.

By chance, was actually the Hand of God. The army that was ready to attack Jehoshaphat was stopped by God. II Chronicles 18:31 - "The LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him." (KJV) God protects those who call on Him; He holds accountable those who have turned their backs on Him. We control whether we submit ourselves to the authority of God and obey His teachings. God controls all the rest.

Jehoshaphat returns. God sends a seer to him and asks, "Why did you help evil people? Why do you love those who hate the LORD?" Because of the choices Jehoshaphat made, the LORD was angry with him and he was faced with new troubles and the same problems of aligning himself with those who were not like-minded.


Next Entry: II Chronicles 19:4 – 21:3

II Corinthian 6:14 – 7:16

April 09, 2013

"You are not the same as those who do not believe. So do not join yourselves to them. Good and bad do not belong together. Light and darkness cannot share together." II Corinthians 6:14

Join—this is talking about more than marriage even though that is the most obvious and perhaps the most critical one not to violate. Join also means partnering in business, close friendships, etc. "You are not the same as those who do not believe." At least you shouldn't be. If you are the same then a much deeper problem exists. Good and bad—don't belong together. Light and darkness—don't mix. We are all a work in progress, but there should be (and must be) a difference between those who say they believe and those who don't believe. The difference cannot be in just what our tongues say. It must also be in the way we live. Our bodies are the temple of Christ, and we must live as if we believe that to be true.

We would have never... NEVER... NEVER!! joined with my sister and brother-in-law in a joint business project if we had know the truth about them. NEVER! We can verify this teaching from painful personal experience: good and bad do not belong together. It won't work. You (our family) have witnessed what happened when we refused to compromise our standards. You (our family) have witnessed the depths they have gone to further their agendas for ill-gotten gain. It has been ugly, very ugly, and we've all been subjected to their anger and pursuit of revenge in "the storm." We didn't knowingly walk into this "joining" of opposites, but some people do, and there is a price that is paid. Don't ever willingly and stubbornly disobey God's standards. If you ignore God's standards you are inviting discord, hurt, sorrow, tension, regret, and trials into your life.

There is a kind of sorrow God wants. It is a sorrow that causes people to change their hearts and lives. II Corinthians 7:10 - "This leads to salvation, and you cannot be sorry for that." When facing difficulties don't try to pray them away! Learn from them!! What does God want to teach me? Is there anything I am doing that He wants me to stop? Is there anything I'm not doing that I should be doing? Use the sorrow and/or difficulty to propel you towards God. Do whatever it takes, Lord, to draw _____ (insert name) to you. Do whatever it takes, Lord, to draw me closer to you! That kind of sorrow leads to salvation, and you can't be sorry about that!!

Scofield (in Jane's (Her Name Was Jane) KJV) describes separation as being twofold. 1) From—whatever is contrary to the mind of God; and 2) Unto—drawing closer to God. It is impossible for God to bless or use His children who compromise with, or are in complicity with, evil. Impossible. Who would want to willingly remove God's full blessings?

The one way to separate ourselves TO God is to separate ourselves FROM whatever goes against HIS Word and heart. 


Next Entry: II Corinthians 8:1 – 9:15

Acts 18:1–28 (Continued)

December 26, 2012

I thought I was done writing about my sister and brother-in-law's apparent decision to reject God's ways and instead trust in the world's court. But during the night some new thoughts came to me and more of the iceberg is being exposed.

"I will win!" That is the motive and drive behind my sister's actions. At any cost, "I will win!" It doesn't matter if it goes against God's Word; it doesn't matter if it destroys others; and it doesn't even matter if it destroys her. "I will win!" My sister and brother-in-law thought they could win by deceit. They thought they could win by domineering and overpowering. They thought they could win by manipulations, threats, and the fear of embarrassment. There was never a desire for compromise because a compromise would not be winning. Arbitration—rejected. Sale—rejected.  Mediation—rejected.

They rejected God's way and instead turned to the world's way to achieve their goal of "I will win." In the past they were able to get their own desires by implementing all the things I've just mentioned. They were surprised it didn't work for them this time and in a letter to our Senior Pastor said they were "mystified" as to why nothing they tried worded. So, they plowed on, rejecting God ways and embracing the world's way. They lost so much in these last years, and yet nothing to date has stopped them—because I must win! As the saying goes, come Hell or high water nothing else matters, "I will win!"

In my sister's letter to me after mediation she said something to the effect of "when are you going to stop this" which made/makes no sense unless you view it through her "I will win!" thinking. In her view I need to give up and quit defending myself so she can "win."

And God says, "You are already defeated." You've already lost. You will not win. Even if it "appears" that you win in the earthly realm, you have lost in the only thing that really matters—eternal security.

Wow! You can't fight (and win) against God's will. CANNOT! This is why we told our lawyer what we did in January '09 during my sister and brother-in-law's depositions in Indy. They cannot be victorious in deceitfully maneuvering and wrongly taking away from us every earthly thing that God has given us. They cannot! We went on to tell our lawyer that if GOD decides He has a different plan for our lives and it involves removing from us what HE has given us, then we are okay with that because we trust HIM, and we have surrendered ALL to HIM. Fighting against God is always a losing battle and any attempt to do so shows, "you are already defeated." 

This isn't some new idea. It is what got Satan kicked out of heaven. It is what caused Adam and Eve to sin and be removed from the garden. It is the violation of God's very first commandment. It is the problem (sin) of "I"—p.r.I.d.e. "I will win!" Stubborn refusal to surrender. I... I... I... no matter what it costs me... I. And it will be costly, for God says, "you are already defeated" because you have relied on yourself and you have rejected my ways for the world's way. I go back to the prayer God gave us for my sister and brother-in-law years ago. "May they understand that without you they are nothing and may they desire nothing but you!"

When you live a life that is not surrendered to God you do not get to control what controls you.

After being taken to court and released by the judge, Paul traveled from town to town giving encouragement and strength to all the followers. Acts 18 gives a clear example of how to handle it when someone is misguided in their teachings. Apollo was passionately and eloquently teaching about Jesus but the only baptism he knew about was the baptism that John taught. He did not yet understand about the Holy Spirit. When Priscilla and Aquila heard this they did not malign him publicly. Acts 18:26 - "They took him to their home and helped him better understand the way of God." When Apollo understood, he went on his way and "He argued very strongly with the Jews before all the people clearly proving with the scriptures that Jesus is the Christ." (Acts 18:28)

Addendum: 3/11/16 ~ Add another rejection to the list. Settlement Conference—rejected. The judge tried to get them to understand their best opportunity for "control" was now, before trial. And still they could not let go. They must win! But at what cost? It is frightening when you look at the path they have chosen to take. 

It is even more frightening when you look at the "why" behind their decisions. Of course they chose the world's way. How could they not? It was their ONLY option. In God's design for solving disputes there is NO defense for lies, cheating, devious conduct, evil traps, stealing, etc. Those things have NO place in a Believer's life. To chose God's ways would have meant "change your hearts and lives and get a new way of thinking." They purposely have rejected God's ways and incredibly, they have also rejected any solution the world's way has offered because it didn't include them winning ALL. Throughout this whole process, my sister and brother-in-law have consistently exhibited one attitude, which our lawyer has accurately characterized as, "We win, you lose—you choose."

Up to this point, there has been NO indication that any sort of change is even on the radar of their consciousness or subconsciousness. Dangerous, dangerous ground. O Lord, they are so blinded and their hearts are so hardened. Is there any hope???? 

Addendum #2: 2/13/19 ~ The judge said a trial would be scheduled for early 2016 if  the Settlement Conference was not successful, but that never happened. 2016 passed. Then late in 2017, another notice came from the judge requesting both sides to advise the courts of available times and/or conflicting dates so a trial could be scheduled for 2018. Our lawyer sent back a broad range of times we would be available and also his conflicting dates from when he already had another trial scheduled. Remarkably, my sister and brother-in-law didn't do that. Instead, they sent the judge a list of when they would be available, just a small window of time in early spring, saying any other time would be a hardship for them. You would have thought they would have said, "name the date and time and we will be there." I think the judge was put off by their arrogance and their expectancy that a judge should acquiesce to their demands/limited availability. As a result, we've heard nothing back from the judge and no date was set.

2018 passed. Then in late January of this year (2019) my sister and brother-in-law (through their lawyer) sent a letter to the judge requesting a phone conference between both the lawyers and judge for the purpose of setting a trial date in either late 2019 or the first months of 2020, again saying they are not available any other time as it would be a hardship for them. They are obviously tired of waiting on the judge and have decided to take matters into their own hands.

So we will wait and see.

I said to my husband just a few weeks ago (before my sister and brother-in-law's letter to the judge) that maybe the reason the lawsuit is still sitting stagnant in the court system is because my sister and brother-in-law are going to change their hearts and minds. The arrow on the "hope" meter was a little to the right of center.  And then we get the notice that they are still actively pursuing their deceit and our destruction, and the arrow on the "hope" meter goes back to the left and bottoms out.

We still do not believe this lawsuit will ever proceed to trial. There is no legal rationale explaining our beliefs, it is just a strong conviction of faith. In the world's court a trial is the only option left. But, we do not believe this lawsuit will be decided by the world's court. No earthly thing or person can put a stop to my sister's obsession. Only God—only God.  See By HIS Great Power.


Next Entry: Acts 19:1–41

Acts 15:1–41

December 06, 2012

Sharp dispute. This chapter shows how conflict in the church (and elsewhere) should be handled.

There was a sharp dispute over what should be required of the Gentile believers. One side believed one thing and the other side believed the opposite. There was going to be no way to reach an agreement between the two sides, so the church sent Paul and Barnabas along with some others to Jerusalem so the apostles and other elders could decide what was correct. After they heard all the different opinions, a decision was made and a compromise was reached. Paul and Barnabas, along with two other men the elders chose, went back to explain the decision to the people. During this whole time, even though there was a sharp dispute, God's message was still going out. On the way to and from the meeting Paul and Barnabas were still preaching and encouraging. The arbitration process wasn't easy, and there were long debates, but a decision was reached and strife was prevented. Later, Paul and Barnabas also had a strong disagreement about how to proceed. It was so serious that they separated and went their own separate ways. They didn't seek revenge on each other. They agreed to disagree and went their own ways while still spreading the message of Christ.

In early 2007, when this whole breakdown with my sister and brother-in-law and "the storm" was still in the beginning stages, my sister and brother-in-law contacted our pastors multiple times; they were ostensibly trying to seek help with solving a disagreement between leaders in the church (us) and them. The truth is they were trying to manipulate our Senior Pastor (our Pastor's own words) and threaten him by telling him this lawsuit was going to become very public and therefore damaging to the church because their leaders were involved. Their letters and phone calls to our Pastors had nothing to do with seeking help to settle a "strong dispute." It was entirely about using manipulation, threats, and scripture to get what they wanted, which was us back under their control until their deceitful plans could be fulfilled.

My sister and brother-in-law were angry, and they wanted us hurt. They wanted to embarrass us and have us removed from our leadership positions which they knew we were passionate about. Our Pastor followed biblical principle and suggested arbitration. My sister and brother-in-law said they served on a board affiliated with a nationally known religious organization, trying to "appear" as religious and affiliated with well-known leaders. (This was a very exaggerated claim.) Since my sister and brother-in-law claimed to have a relationship with the nationally known religious organization, our Pastor offered to set up an arbitration with someone of their choice from within that organization. My sister and brother-in-law refused his offer. Our Pastor then offered to speak with their pastor, and my brother-in-law told him there wasn't one since they just went to a small "home" church.

Our Pastor offered every biblical option, and my sister and brother-in-law refused them all. They didn't want a compromise. They didn't want reconciliation  They wanted control. They wanted domination. They wanted revenge. They wanted our humiliation at church and in our community. They wanted the completion of their underhanded schemes. And they were determined to get it. So they rejected all of God's ways and devised and proceeded with a plan that directly violates God's own words. Dangerous. Dangerous ground.

And the things they planned for us? The humiliation, embarrassment, removal, etc.?  None of it has happened.  None!


Next Entry: Acts 16:1–40

Matthew 18:15 – 19:30 (Continued)

June 12 - 14, 2012

We often hear the story of how Jesus welcomed children. "Let the little children come to me. Don't stop them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people who are like these children." 

When we read and hear these stories we often think of "children" in the sense of the age of the child. When Jesus refers to the kingdom of heaven belonging "to people who are like these children" I don't believe He is just talking about age. He is talking about child-like attributes.

• Innocent
• Trusting
• Wanting to learn
• Dependent upon
• Childlike humility
• Faith
• Eagerness  

It is understanding the gap between

God

↓

  Man/Child.

Jesus wants us—all of us. Not our abilities; not our strength; not our plans. Just us. Simply all of us. When He has that THEN He can work in us, through us, and with us, to bring about HIS will for our lives.

A rich young man goes to Jesus and asks what He must do to have eternal life. Jesus responds that He must obey the commands. The rich man asks "Which ones"? How is that for a non-committal answer/question? Which ones? How about all of them? There are ten of them!! Jesus' answer is quite interesting. He lists six of them, Commandments 5–10. He left out the first four for a reason. The rich man replied, "I have obeyed all these things. What else do I need to do?"

The rich man was a good man. He was upright, moral, and honest man—all good things. But there was one thing he was not. He was not a man who was surrendered to God. So when he asked what else he needed to do, Jesus responded by showing him what his problem was, Commandments 1–4 of the Ten Commandments. It is not enough to be a "good" person. We must be a Godly person.  

Jesus told him if he wanted to be perfect he must go and sell his possessions and give the money to the poor. This really wasn't about money. It was about the root of the problem, which was the disobedience of the commandments that deal entirely with a heart surrendered to God. Jesus was in effect asking him, "Are you willing to give up your self reliance, your self effort, your need for self control, and your self made riches?" I know you are a good man. But, are you willing to surrender everything you think you are in control of to me?

There was a reason why the rich man asked which commandments he needed to obey. There is a reason why Jesus separated the commandments when He answered him. You can be a good person and obey Commandments 5–10 with self effort and still not obey Commandments 1–4. But, being a "good" person is not enough.

The Kingdom of Heaven (Salvation) is only obtained by obedience to Commandments 1 through 4.  When 1–4 (the "vertical" commandments that deal with our relationship to God) are obeyed then 5–10 (the "horizontal" commandments that deal with our relationship with fellow man) are automatically followed and obeyed. Jesus was pointing out to the rich man what the root of the problem was—the letter "I." What must "I" do to be saved. God doesn't want our self-effort. What He wants is our surrendered self. Sadly, the rich man was not willing to give up his self-reliance and become God-reliant. Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 19:23) Not because of the money itself. No, it's because of what having wealth tends to do, which is make you feel self-reliant.

When you don't need any thing you don't need any One, and it is easy to become or remain self-reliant instead of learning to trust God and become God-reliant. It becomes all about "me" and what "I" want instead of about God and what HE wants. It's p.r.I.d.e, with a capital "I." It's breaking the first commandment of no other gods before God or in addition to God. (Exodus 20:3, 23) You have to be willing to give all and leave all.   

"And all those who have left houses, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children or farms to follow me will get much more than they left, and they will have life forever. Many who have the highest place now will have the lowest place in the future. And many who have the lowest place now will have the highest place in the future." (Matthew 19:29-30)

I surrender ALL.


Next Entry: STOP! Turn Around!  GO BACK!

Matthew 18:15 – 19:30

June 05, 2012

What To Do When a Person Sins Against You

I am always amazed at how God takes His Word and reveals Truth. When I read Matthew 18:15–17 it was an "Oh my goodness!" moment. Most everyone knows these verses, but oh how often they are abused. Jesus tells us when a fellow believer sins against you (key words underlined) we should:

1. Go the person in private and tell him what he did wrong. After repentance there is restoration.
2. If he refuses to listen, then try again by taking several other people with you so there are witnesses.
3. If that doesn't work "tell the church"
4. If the person still refuses to accept truth, then treat him as an outsider.

Here is my "Oh my goodness!" moment  First, you have to understand the groundwork. For weeks now I have been gripped by the new thought (to me) of religious unbelievers. People who are planted by, used by, and deceived by—the Evil One.

When anger, revenge, and greed is the fruit that comes from someone's trees, how can you come to any other conclusion but that they are religious, yet unbelievers and therefore deceived. So, yesterday when I read these verses and I think, "Oh my goodness!" it is because I realized for the first time that in my sister and brother-in-law's (what I believe is their) deceived hearts they actually think they have obeyed Biblical truth. What appears to be their level of deceit, both in what they believe and in what they project, is just absolutely gut-wrenching. It breaks my heart to realize the deceit they are bound by.

O LORD, please open their eyes. Reveal truth to them. LORD, give them another opportunity for repentance. LORD, may they confess, surrender, and save their souls. May their eyes be open to see Truth, and may the Truth—YOUR Truth—set them free.

Here is why their belief that they've followed Biblical principles is flawed.

Step #1:

You are to go to your fellow believer IF they have sinned against you for the purpose of restoring that person's relationship to Christ with Christ which in turn would typically also restore their earthly relationships.

My sister and brother-in-law (in what I believe is their deceived state) have chosen to believe and have convinced themselves that we have sinned against them. Therefore, they think they've obeyed Step #1 by asking to meet with us in the infamous January '07 meeting. They now say the sole purpose for the meeting was so they could "just listen" to our concerns. Nothing could be farther from the truth. They didn't come to listen. They didn't come to restore a broken relationship between us and Christ. They didn't come to restore a broken relationship between sisters. They came to our home for one reason and one reason only—to restore their own agenda. They saw the plan they carefully crafted and secretly put into was place falling apart and they were panicked and angry. What they wanted to restore was our submission to them. They did not try to restore a relationship by listening or by engaging in honest conversation. They tried to restore their own evil agenda by domination, deceit, threats, accusations, vicious lies, manipulations, and control.

Trying to restore a fellow believer from heading down a wrong path and trying restore you own evil agenda of trickery and false accusations is as different as night and day. Yet, in their minds (deceived state), they have convinced themselves they followed Step #1 of God's principles.

Step #2: 

Jesus says to take other people with you if Step #1 doesn't work.

My sister and brother-in-law "believe" this is what they were doing when they contacted our pastors multiple times. My brother-in-law called one of our Associate Pastors, introduced himself, and told him there was a broken relationship between themselves and leaders within the church. He told our Pastor they were trying to follow Matthew 18 and Step #1 had failed so they were contacting him to ask his help in facilitating a meeting between us. Sounds biblical doesn't it? Yet, the purpose wasn't for reconciliation. It was for manipulation. Our Pastor, with God's wisdom, knew something wasn't right. He told them he would speak to us and call them back.

Our Pastor called me on my cell phone. It was my day to watch our grandson and I was taking him for a stroller ride to the park. Our Pastor told me about receiving a phone call from my brother-in-law and he asked me if Matthew 18:15 had been tried. I told him there definitely was a break down in our relationship but this was not a situation where my sister and brother-in-law were looking for personal restoration. I explained it was our business "partnership" that had to end and we were trying to break free from any type of business ties with them. I shared with him some of what we were learning about their personal lives and business practices; I shared with him what happened in the January '07 meeting and the revised "agreement" they tricked us into signing; I shared how we had already sought counsel with the Senior Pastor about the situation; I explained how my sister and brother-in-law were demanding we compromise our belief system and that once we became aware we did not share the same core principles and values as my sister and brother-in-law, we knew we had to separate ourselves from them. It was a good conversation.

Our Associate Pastor called my brother-in-law back and declined to set up a meeting. My sister and brother-in-law were angry that our Pastors would not help them with their agenda. Their son later told us that this Associate Pastor was a "moron." Can you imagine what that meeting would have been like? Oh, my sister and brother-in-law would have appeared so concerned; they would have said how during the first meeting they came back just to listen; they just don't understand what is going on; they never asked us to lie or compromise our beliefs; I must have misunderstood; I was emotionally unstable; they don't know if they will ever be able to trust us again; they didn't trick us into anything; yadda, yadda, yadda. God would have revealed truth to our Pastors, but thank-you, Lord, that we were spared from that!

Our Associate Pastor called me back to tell me the conversation with my brother-in-law did not go well and to be careful. He felt they were unpredictable and may try to arrive at our house unannounced to confront us. Sure enough, several days later we arrived home late at night to find my nephew sitting on our dark porch waiting for us to return so he could confront us. We live in a secluded area. He had parked his car (off the road and hidden) in a woods adjoining our property and trespassed across multiple farm fences and fields to arrive at our porch.

In their mind's eye, they "believe" they are following Jesus' instructions. How do you get into a deceived state? By compromise and disobedience. There has to be a purposeful turning away FROM following truth. You aren't forcefully overtaken and it doesn't happen as a victim of circumstance. It is instead the direct result of the choices you make. A "little" sin never remains little and before you know it, wrong becomes right and right becomes wrong.

After their Step #2 scheme (not obedience) failed, they moved on to the next step.

Step #3:

Tell the church.

And so they did. More phone calls. Emails. Letters. Trying to manipulate our Senior Pastor (manipulation is how our Senior Pastor described it) and force the church to remove us from our leadership positions by implying threats and embarrassment to the church through intimidation. All to continue to try to further their own agenda and not for the purpose of restoration. All night and day different from what Jesus was saying in Matthew 18:15–17.

I've said this before. My sister and brother-in-law somehow believe (or at the very least project) themselves to be like us (upright, honest, trustworthy, believers) and they project their actions (dishonest, untrustworthy, liars, unbelievers) upon us. Incredible. Our actions and lives speak for themselves, and so does theirs. The things we have learned through this lawsuit, discovery, and the passage of time, have shown us more of the iceberg—the truth. You cannot deny the facts. Like Jesus said: A good tree cannot produce bad fruit and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. As much as they want to claim they are a good tree, I believe their actions speak otherwise.

In their deceived state they can't figure out why Step #1 – Step #3 didn't work. In a letter to our Senior Pastor, my sister and brother-in-law said they were "mystified" about why none of the steps to restoration worked and so now they were "forced" to file a very public lawsuit against us as a "defensive move." And that brings us to the next step.

Step #4:

Break all ties.

"The storm" begins. The "big guns" (my brother-in-law's words) are brought out and they file a lawsuit against us as a "defensive" move. Trying to make us pay them three quarters of a million dollars doesn't sound like a "defensive" move to me.    

My sister used to say that you had to take everything our Mom and Dad said and turn it 180 degrees. Now I understand that is what I have to do with her actions. She projected her problems on to Mom and Dad. Now, my sister and brother-in-law are projecting their moral, ethical, legal, and religious failures on to us, or at least they are attempting to. By their actions you would think we were the ones who tricked them into a "revised agreement"; lied about it; promised to change it; removed $250k from the project funds for our personal use; refused to return the money or sign a promissory note for it; refused to remove the "revised agreement"; and then filed suit against them.

My sister and brother-in-law, think they followed the biblical principles of Matthew 18. But then they follow it up with a direct violation of both Old Testament standards and the written instructions of the New Testament, and they file a lawsuit against a fellow "believer." And not just any lawsuit, but the most personal, vindictive and vicious lawsuit our lawyer has seen in years if not ever.

How do they explain that to themselves? I guess by saying it was a "defensive" move they rationalize they didn't do it and once again project their actions on to us.   

Twisted, sick, and deceived thinking. Lord, have mercy on them.

Addendum: Well the Settlement Conference is over, and it was not successful. The judge was awesome. He was so wise and did his very best. But you cannot deal rationally with people who are irrational.

The judge told us that less than 2% of civil lawsuits ever make it to trial. I guess we are going to be in that "special" 2%. I'm guessing that the rest of the cases that make the 2% are like ours and not really about the merits of the case at all but are about personal vendettas and revenge. What they wanted was absurd. The good thing about it is that it was so absurd that there was no doubt what our answer had to be. So, we will wait to see when a trial will be scheduled. The judge tried to tell them that we don't have that kind of money and their response was, "they have a successful business." Our business is a small business with expensive equipment but it is not a cash cow. If you sell your equipment then you don't have a business. We couldn't come up with that much money if we sold everything we own.

The judge clearly saw what the motives were behind the issues.

The Lord is faithful, and He once again gave them another opportunity to do the right thing and drop this lawsuit. My sister and brother-in-law always accuse us of "digging in," another projection on to us of who and what they do. I'm learning that this projection, both the projection of assuming our qualities upon themselves and asserting their actions upon us, is symptomatic of a personality disorder.

It has been several years since we have seen them. Whenever we see them I find it very shocking. They both arrived in court in blue jeans. My brother-in-law's jeans looked like he had worn them for days or weeks without washing. They both looked very disheveled, hard, and unhealthy. Their personas do not portray any kind of peace or contentment in their lives. It is so sad. So very, very sad. LORD, what is it going to take? Will they ever understand how to have peace and contentment in their lives? Will they ever turn FROM the lies and turn TO truth—YOUR TRUTH?

On a side note: Today the guys came to begin building the shelter that is a symbol of God's protection in our lives. They should be finished tomorrow and the antique lithograph store manger scene that I bought last year (but didn't know what I was going to do with it) will go in the shelter the next day. This shelter represents what God told the Israelites to do during the Feast of Shelters. They were to build a shelter on their property to remind them of how God took care of them while they were in the wilderness. That is why we are building this simple shelter. It is a reminder to ourselves, the generations that follow us, and all that come to our home—HE IS THE ONE—who protected us and took care of us while following HIS path in this trial.


Next Entry: Matthew 18:15 – 19:30 (Continued)     

Matthew 6:1–34 (Continued)

April 03, 2012

God is more important than money or anything else. (Matthew 6:19–24) Jesus says, "Don't store up treasures for yourselves here on earth..." It is totally useless and a waste of time and energy. It consumes you. It absorbs your full attention. Do I have enough? Can I keep it safe? Will people try to take my things? I want more. Does someone else have more than me? You can see the problem with all the underlined pronouns. I... I... I... me... me... me. Our focus cannot be on God if our focus is on I... me... mine.  

"Your heart is where your treasure is" or say it in reverse, "Your treasure is where your heart is." The problem is people convince themselves that they don't have a problem. They label it as being wise and good stewards. Stewards are what we should be of what God has given us. But most the time we (people) view ourselves as being self-made. It's all about what we have done, accomplished, or attained. The lies of Satan are subtle, and we convince ourselves that darkness is light. Jesus says it this way, "The eye is a light for the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are evil, your whole body will be full of darkness. And if the only light you have is really darkness, then you have the worst darkness." (Matthew 6:22–23) It is the worst kind of darkness because you think it is light. And when you believe that, you can no longer see and know truth.

This has been shown to us over and over throughout these last five years. How clearly I remember driving home from my sister and brother-in-laws depositions in Indy (2009) and my husband and I understanding for the first time that there was no truth in them. They no longer knew truth. What they thought was light was actually darkness, and it's the worst kind of darkness. Up until that day we thought they "knew" truth and were just choosing to further their own gain by using lies, trickery, manipulations, false accusations, etc. to get what they wanted. When someone knows truth they can return to it. But during their depositions we realized they no longer knew truth. It was gut-wrenching, heart-breaking, and difficult to watch. We spent the time driving home crying out to the Lord on their behalf. "And if the only light you have is really darkness, then you have the worst darkness." 

Chuck Swindoll in "Simple Faith" says it this way:

"In the light of truth, you and I are able to see both truth and lie, both light and darkness – that which is simple, pure, and clear and that which is deceptive. But enslaved to darkness, and plunged into the pit of the lie, we no longer see truth. We have no other option but to believe the lie."

Believing the lie and no longer knowing the truth—truly the worst kind of darkness. You cannot straddle the fence. Matthew 6:24 - "No one can serve two masters. The person will hate the one master and love the other, or will follow one master and refuse to follow the other. You cannot serve both God and worldly riches." Cannot. It doesn't say it will be hard or you might fall off the fence. No. Pure and simple—CANNOT.

We cannot serve "things" in addition to God. (Exodus 20:23) Either God is God of ALL or He is God of nothing. If we try to serve anything in addition to God (self, money, family, things, etc.) it will take over and become the most important to us. You cannot remain on a fence. Eventually what we think is light is actually darkness, and it is the worst kind of darkness because we are fooled into thinking it is light and we do not realize we are living in darkness. 


Next Entry: Matthew 6:1–34 (Continued)

Fanning the Flame – 2012

March 20, 2012

At the rate I am going it is going to take me years to get through the New Testament. :)  There is just so much to process with Jesus' own words.

This week is Fanning the Flame services at church. As always, we have really enjoyed them. Dr. Bob Laurent spoke on Sunday night. He is a professor of the Old Testament. I would love to take his classes. He is just fascinating to listen to. Here are a couple of his points.

• Nowhere in the Old Testament does it indicate that the sacrifices were for intentional sins
• The Old Testament points to the need for God's grace
• The Old Testament isn't just about "the law"
• Confession—when you get rid of the sin. God already knows. It is when you are freed.
• You're never closer to God than when you run risks
• Your faith comes alive during battle
• Who are you touching for Jesus?
• The importance of ONE-ness with God.
• Love the unlovely. Touch the untouchable.

Monday - Ron Williams
He spoke about how the Israelites got in such a mess and how Christians today find themselves in such messes. They have lost the "awe" of God. Signs that you may be in danger of losing the "awe" of who HE is.

• You lose sight of God's greatness and goodness
• Your view of sin becomes small
• You choose compromise over conviction
• You choose happiness over holiness
• Your life becomes about "you" and not about God
• Your worship becomes casual

"When we reduce the size of God, we reduce our view of sin." This quote by Ron Williams is a very profound statement. When you don't "get it" and you minimize God, your view of yourself/sin gets distorted. I've written many time before that the most important thing Jane (Her Name Was Jane) taught us was the importance of praise—first and foremost. Praise brings AWE. I never connected the two together until last night. Praise keeps AWE alive and well. It puts everything in the proper perspective. God → man.  Psalm 8 - O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is YOUR name... what is man?

Dr Ronald Smith
Are you on fire or beating the bush? Are we in our own "self" protection program, or are we God-reliant? As a child Moses was saved from certain death by God. When Moses sees the injustice of what is happening to his fellow Israelites (God's people) he takes matters into his own hand and kills the Egyptian. And now here he is (in his own "self" protection program hiding as a shepherd) and God calls him by name. God knows where we are even if we are hiding. God doesn't give up on us. He pursues us. He is there if we will look up and respond, "This is Holy Ground." You never make things better by your own hand! Only God's plan works.

When we get real, God will go to the lowest rung to save us. Moses relied on his rod, again using "self" protection. God told him to throw it down and it was revealed for what it was—a snake (the devil). Any time we are trying to do "self" protection it is a tool of Satan. Once it was revealed for what it was, God told him to pick it back up. Truth was revealed. Now he, (and it) could be used because God gave it to him. It was no longer a rod of "self" protection. It was now an instrument of God. Then Dr. Smith asked this question, "What won't you give up?" What is it that you are trying to use to protect yourself? What is God asking you to throw down? Are you on fire? Or, are you beating around the bush?

Dr. Laurent, Ron Williams, and Dr. Smith ALL emphasized that the Old Testament is not just about the Law. Dr. Smith, "The Old Testament is the Gospel." Look at Hebrews 11, they are all people from the Old Testament. Oh my goodness. My words (my journal from Genesis – II Chronicles 11 that I had to send to my sister and brother-in-law when it got caught up in "the storm") gave them the Gospel! I knew it was God's words and truth was spoken, but I never thought about it as being the Gospel. Thank you Jesus for giving me the opportunity to share the truth about you!

David Leeder
He spoke about relationship. The most important relationship we have in life is our relationship with God. Some people settle for knowing about God. They "know" church, they "know" Bible, they "know" about, but they don't have an active and alive current relationship. The present reality of God in their life is gone. But where is God? How is it possible to lose God? Leeder gave the example of the lost axe head in II Kings 6. We can lose God in our busyness of serving God—doing, but not being. Another way we can lose God is in the midst of adversity. Job lost everything and in Job 23 asked "Where are you?" to God. His third example was Revelations 2 where the people lost their first love. You can lose God when you allow other things to take priority in your life. So, how can we find God again?

Psalm 42 - A renewed longing for Him. You will never experience something you don't long for. "I am desperate for you."
Psalm 63 - Where your treasure is your heart is (Matthew 6).
Colossians 3 - Set your mind/heart on things above.

You will never discover something if you are not searching for it.

Jeremiah 29:13 - When you search for me with all your heart you will find me – I will let you find me.
Psalm 51 - A renewed commitment to Him. Realizing that where I am is not where I should be. Where I am is not where I need to be.

How is it between you and God today? Have you lost God? Where did you lose Him? II Kings 6 - where did you lose it? To find it/God you must go back to where you lost Him. Where you lost the blessing is where you must go back to in order for the blessing to be restored. You must learn to trust God again. There are no short-cuts. You must go back to the fork in the road. Revelation 2:5 - Remember. Repent. Restore.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Fanning the Flame services again. It was beautiful weather each night, but each night the church was full. So glad we went. Now—back to Matthew 5.


Next Entry: Matthew 5:1–48 (Continued)

Hosea 6:1 – 10:15

January 30, 2012

"Come, let's go back to the LORD..." and God says, "I want faithful love" more than I want your sacrifices. "I want people to know me" (NIV - acknowledgment of God) more than your offerings. I want you to change your hearts and minds and get a new way of thinking. 

Instead, "It never enters their minds that I remember all their evil deeds." I know. I see. But they somehow don't think it matters. Your "hearts burn inside of (you). All night long their anger is low, but when morning comes, it becomes a roaring fire." Greed and revenge consumes them. Their strength is already eaten up but they don't know it. "(Their) pride will cause their defeat; they will not turn back to the LORD their God or look to him for help in all of this." I will bring them down. I will punish them, how terrible it will be. Hosea 7:13 - "I want to save them, but they have spoken lies against me." They have trusted in the wrong things. Their foolish plans are like planting the wind— they will reap a whirlwind.   

Truth and lies cannot be mixed. That is "like a pancake cooked only on one side." (Gotta love the way the Bible is written in such a visually descriptive manner.) You've tried everything but coming to me. You've chosen your own leaders. You've chosen your own path. You've created your own idols. You've come up with your own plans. You've went outside of me to seek help. You've hired others to protect you. You built altars to remove sin but they have become altars for sinning. You keep trying to do everything yourself.

You have forgotten that I am your Maker. 


Next Entry: Hosea 6:1 – 10:15 (Continued)

Isaiah 28:1 – 31:9 (Continued)

August 05, 2011

Isaiah 30 - The chapter Jane (Her Name Was Jane) asked us to read in September of '07. The chapter that seemed like Greek then, but now makes so much more sense since I understand the context better.

Isaiah 30 is full of warnings. Warnings to His people who were stubbornly refusing to surrender to Him and to go to Him for help. Instead, they tried to be in control of their own lives and make their own plans for survival and protection.

It all always goes back to the core issue—pride. A refusal to let go and let God. A refusal to surrender. A refusal to submit to the very first commandment—No other Gods. A refusal to put aside their "rights" and live a "I'm following God no-matter-what-life." Stubborn. A refusal to submit to God's authority. A hardening of the heart. A turning of the back. Reminds me of the old Frank Sinatra song, "I'll do it my way."

And the LORD says:

"How terrible it will be for these stubborn children. They make plans, but they don't ask me to help them. They make agreements with other nations without asking my Spirit. They are adding more and more sins to themselves."

That's the thing about sin. There's no such thing as a "little" sin. Disobedience births disobedience. Every step away from God's Will takes you further down the path of disobedience, which leads to a path of destruction.

Incredibly, the Israelites rejected the LORD who brought them out of Egypt's slavery. Instead of going to the LORD who saved them in the past, they incredibly went to the very thing they were enslaved to in the past for help. How does that make any sense? Why wouldn't they rely on what was proven to help them in the past instead of returning to what was proven to hurt them in the past? Pride. Self-reliance. Stubbornness. The thing is, "Christians" do the exact same thing today. They ask Jesus for forgiveness but then for whatever reason (pride, tough times, stress, stubbornness, etc.) they return to making their own plans instead of asking God for help. They believe (trust) more in themselves than they believe (trust) in God.

God clearly says in Isaiah 30 that relying on yourself or others, and refusing to rely on God, will be of no use. "It will give no help and will be of no use; it will cause only shame and embarrassment." Yet, even when they have been shown God's protection by past experience and have been warned of the consequences for not relying on His (God's) protection, some people continue to insist on "carrying their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasure on the backs of camels," going through dangerous areas and through a land of hardship and distress, trying (in their own power) to get to a place "that cannot help them... whose help is useless."

Determined—determined to make it on their own. Sure—sure they can save themselves.


Next Entry: Isaiah 28:1 – 31:9 (Continued)

Psalm 97:1 – 98:9

April 29, 2011

Psalm 97:9 - "For thou, LORD, are high above the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods." Listen to it here. 

I remember well the first time I ever heard the praise song written from this verse. My brother-in-law sang it when he and my sister got married. What happened? What happened between the time when those words were sung and it became okay to lie, use trickery, manipulate and do whatever else it took (including a vile lawsuit) in the quest for gold? What happened?

10 "People who love the LORD hate evil." Scripture is very clear about what "evil" is. (NIV) "Let those who love the LORD hate evil." (KJV) "Ye that love the LORD hate evil." Evil is evil.You can try to sugar coat it, you can try to blame and place your actions on someone or something else, but that doesn't change the facts—evil is evil. You can try to excuse or rationalize your behavior. You can try to justify it. You can try and scheme, strategize, and manipulate your way "out" of it, but the truth remains—evil is evil! You can try to deny it, you can try to tip the scales by doing more "good" than evil, you can try to negotiate you way out of accountability by "giving" more, praising more, reading the Bible more, praying more, and none of that changes the facts—evil is evil.

You are either for God—or you are against Him. You are either submitting and surrendering all to Him as Lord—or you are your own god. You are either following His ways—or you are following your own desires. It is ALL—or nothing.  

But then Verse 10 goes on: "The LORD watches over those who follow him and frees them from the power of the wicked." That is a promise, and God delivers. Jane (Her Name Was Jane) has written John 17:11;15 beside this verse.

John 17:11 - "Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name... the name you gave me."
John 17:15 - "...protect them from the evil one."

Beside John 17:15 Jane has written II Timothy 4:17–18 - "But the LORD stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lions mouth. The LORD will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom."

Beside II Timothy 4:18 Jane has written II Thessalonians 3:3 - "But the LORD is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one."

Psalm 98:1 - Sing to the LORD a new song...4 shout with joy to the LORD.

Psalm 97:11 - "Light shines on those who do right; joy belongs to those who are honest. 12 Rejoice in the LORD, you who do right.  Praise his holy name."

Psalm 97:2 - His kingdom is built on what is right and fair. Psalm 98:9 - He will judge the world fairly; he will judge the people with fairness. (Equity - NIV and KJV)
 
Blessed be the name of the LORD!


Next Entry: Psalm 99:1 – 101:8

Psalm 73:1–28

April 7, 2011

The Psalmist wonders, "Why"? Why do the wicked seem to prosper? Why do they seem to not have any troubles? Why have I kept my heart pure? Why? I've (the Psalmist) tried to understand all of this, but it was too hard for me to see.  UNTIL—until I went to the Temple of God, then I understood.

They are in danger. When the LORD rises up they will disappear.

I have written in the margins of my Bible: Psalm 73 - What a chapter! Psalm 73:17 - ...then I understood... the appearance of wealth and happiness are deceiving. Take this whole world, just give me Jesus. Psalm 73:25–26 - "I want nothing on earth beside you." That is my desire.

There is accountability. Psalm 73:26–28 - "My body and my mind may become weak, but God is my strength. He is mine forever. Those who are far from God will die; you destroy those who are unfaithful. But I am close to God and that is good. The LORD God is my protection. I will tell all that you have done."

Addendum:  2/2/15 ~ I have noticed a theme while recording these last several Psalms. I will tell! I will tell all you have done. Telling HIS Story is the purpose we have been given. I am thinking the time to get Walking By Faith: A True Story of God's Faithfulness started is getting closer. Father, show me the when. I will obey.

I have Psalm 1 written in the margins of by Bible next to this chapter. "They wear pride like a necklace and put on violence as their clothing. They are looking for profits and do not control their selfish desires." What a description of how easily it is for the wicked to proceed ahead in their evil actions. BUT, it could not have started that easily. There had to have been a path of disobedience they choose to walk down. The farther you go down the path of disobedience the easier it becomes, until eventually it was like putting on a necklace and getting dressed in the morning. That thought ought to make all of us want to fall to our knees right now. I NEVER want to put myself in a position of compromising the TRUTH and putting myself on a dangerous path of destruction. And destruction will happen. "You have put them in danger; you cause them to be destroyed. They are destroyed in a moment; they are swept away by terrors. It will be like waking from a dream. Lord, when you rise up, they will disappear."


Next Entry: Psalm 74

II Chronicles 27:1 – 28:27

July 19, 2014

Jotham becomes king. "(He) became powerful, because he always obeyed the LORD his God." He not only started well, but he finished well too. But then Ahaz becomes king and it's a completely different story. (You can read more about Ahaz in II Kings 16 and Isaiah 7.)

Because Ahaz refused to follow God's ways, the LORD handed him over to the king of Aram. God also handed him over to Pekah the king of Israel because Ahaz (Judah) had left the LORD. Disaster happened to them and they were taken captive by their own relatives. A prophet of the LORD met the Israelite army when they returned from the battle. He told them: Look, God is the one who handed the people (Ahaz/Judah) to you because he was angry with them. But God has seen the cruel way you have treated them and killed them. Now you plan to make your own relatives your slaves. This should not be! You yourselves have sinned against God. "Now listen to me.  Send back your brothers and sisters whom you captured because the LORD is very angry with you."

The people of Israel listened and sent the people of Judah back to their homeland.

Ahaz witnessed all of this but still did not change. The Edomites attacked Judah. Did Ahaz turn to God for help? No. He goes to the king of Assyria. The Philistines also attacked Judah. All this happened because Ahaz (Judah) was unfaithful to the LORD. The LORD caused it to happen. In all his troubles, Ahaz turned even farther away from God. He gathered things from the temple; he broke them; and he closed the temple doors. Why is it some people just don't seem to "get-it"? They keep turning away from God instead of turning to God?

God does not tolerate continued disobedience. The longer you refuse to surrender your will to HIS will, the harder it becomes repent.


Next Entry: II Chronicles 29:1 – 32:23

II Chronicles 25:1 – 26:23

July 18, 2014

Amaziah becomes king. He does what is right, but it is more out of duty than a passion to follow the LORD's commands. When Amaziah became established, he held those who had killed his father accountable. He followed the laws of Moses and did not hold the children accountable for the actions of their parents.

Amaziah prepares his soldiers for battle. He also hires 100,000 soldiers from Israel for 75 pounds of silver. A man of God comes to him and says—what are you doing? Don't let the men from Israel go with you. Why are you trusting men instead of God? "You can make yourself strong for war, but God will defeat you. He has the power to help you or to defeat you." Amaziah says—but what about the money I have already spent? And the man of God replies—walk away from it. "The LORD can give you much more than that."

God has the power to help you OR defeat you. Put your faith and trust in Him. Rely on HIM, and only Him. It is HIS battle.

So Amaziah goes to war without the hired men and God provides the victory. But THEN, Amaziah brings home the idols of the people he defeated and started worshiping them. Why? Why would he do that? I've always said the most dangerous time isn't when you are facing a battle bigger than yourself because you know you need God's help. The danger comes when the battle has been won and you forget it was God who won the battle. The focus becomes, "look what I have done" instead of, "look what God has done."

Amaziah starts worshiping the idols that could not save those he had attacked and God had beaten. The LORD was very angry and sent a prophet to talk to him. Have you noticed that God always sent someone to warn people when they were getting off track? Unfortunately, it made Amaziah mad and he did not repent. His response was basically, "Who are you to tell me what to do?"

God provides each of us the opportunity for change, but the decision to listen and obey falls entirely upon our own shoulders.

Amaziah would not listen. He tried to align himself with Israel again. Instead of being joined with Israel he was defeated by Israel. He was captured by his enemies, and later he was hunted down and killed by his own people. "God caused all this to happen" because he sought help from others instead of God. Why? Why? Why? Why are some people so stubborn?

We all need to let go (of our pride) and let (surrender to) God.

Uzziah becomes king. He does what the LORD said was right. "As long as Uzziah obeyed the LORD, God gave him success." Therein lies the true secret to success. It is not our own abilities, but God's response to our servant-hood. Unfortunately, when Uzziah became powerful, "His pride led to his ruin." He became unfaithful to God and he thought he was above the rules. Only the priests were allowed to burn incense on the altar, but Uzziah decided that he would do it. The priests tried to warn him, "You have been unfaithful, and the LORD God will not honor you for this." Uzziah wouldn't listen. He became angry and he did what he wanted to do. Because of his actions, Uzziah developed a skin disease and he could no longer live in the palace. He was separated from being around other people for the rest of his life.

The most dangerous time is not when we are in a crisis. The most dangerous time is when things are going well.

LORD, I want to finish strong! May we follow hard after you now and when "the storm" is over.

From the Life Lesson in my Bible – "The humble are always at peace; the proud are often envious and angry." ~ From The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis.

In my Bible margins I have written – "Isn't that amazing! The very thing they think will bring them stature and control actually binds them in a prison. A self made prison of envy and jealousy. What they thought would bring freedom is instead an albatross. A goal or "feeling" that can never be attained."

II Chronicles 25:9 - "...the LORD is able to give thee much more than this." Jane (Her Name Was Jane) has written in her KJV margins – Much More!  See Romans 5 - Uncle Amos's "much more's."

Addendum: 4/12/15 ~ "Walk away from it...the LORD can give you much more." Luke 6:38 - "Give, and you will receive. You will be given much. Pressed down, shaken together, and running over, it will spill into your lap. The way you give to others is the way God will give to you." We are watching this happen. "The storm" has battered our finances. In our human minds we think, but how can we be restored? How could that happen? How would God be able to do that? See II Kings 6:8 – 8:15.

Our human minds cannot begin to fathom the magnitude of God's love and abilities. Cannot. Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow. 


Next Entry: II Chronicles 27:1 – 28:27 

II Chronicles 21:4 – 24:27

July 17, 2014

You cannot align yourself with ungodly people and then expect to remain faithful to the LORD.

Jesus' calls for us to be separate cannot be followed when aligned with the ungodly. Jehoshaphat found this out when he aligned himself with Ahab (II Chronicles 16:3) and then again with Ahab's son Ahaziah (II Chronicles 20:35). He (and others) suffered the consequences.

Jehoshaphat is dead and now his son Jehoram (the son who married Ahab's daughter) becomes king. In his desire to have total control, he kills all of his brothers and some of the leaders of Judah. He did not follow in the footsteps of his father. Instead, because he married Ahab's daughter, he chose to follow her ways and to do what the LORD said was wrong. But, not everyone chose to follow Jehoram's sinful ways. The people of Libnah broke away from his rule because he had left the LORD's ways.

If you find yourself linked with others (in business or socially) who are not following God, you must break free.    

God sent Elijah to warn Jehoram (by letter) what was going to happen. Jehoram and his people, his wives and children (plus everything he owned), were all going to suffer the consequences for his actions. He was going to develop a terrible disease that he would die from. Two years later he died a horrible death. His need for total control (II Chronicles 21:4), eventually led to his downfall (II Chronicles 21:20), and in the end it brought him nothing. No one was sad when he died. He wasn't even buried with honor.

God's promises are true and nothing can destroy or prevent God from fulfilling His promises. There are consequences for our life choices. Our decisions bring God's promised results: Blessing—or—Curses.

Because of his selfish need for control Jehoram killed all his brothers. And now years later, the exact same fate happened to his own sons by robbers. His youngest son Ahaziah survived, and he became king. He followed in the footsteps of his father, his namesake uncle, and the others in Ahab's family because his mother encouraged him to do what was wrong. His actions later led to his death. Ahaziah goes to visit his uncle Joram (the son of Ahab and king of Israel). While there, "God caused" (NCV) "brought about" (NIV) his death (KJV - "was of God"). There are consequences for our choices and actions.

Ahaziah's mom Athaliah (Ahab's daughter) either doesn't "get-it" or doesn't care. She doesn't take this opportunity to repent and change her ways. Instead, she kills everyone in the royal family so she can take over. At least she thought she killed everyone. But Jehosheba (Ahaziah's sister) takes Joash (Ahaziah's son and her nephew) and hides him in the Temple. No danger in Athaliah finding him there... she is not worshiping God in the Temple. Jehosheba, (along with her husband Jehoida the priest) hid him for six years.

When Joash was seven, Jehoida led the plan to make him king. God promised the king would be of David's descendants and nothing can destroy or prevent God's promises from being fulfilled. Joash is made king. Jehoiada appointed guards to surround him. (God's angels surround us.) When Athaliah realized she was no longer the ruler over Judah she screamed, "Traitors!  Traitors!" Interesting how she felt anything and everything was permissible and acceptable for her as she maneuvered to get her way, but let someone do what God instructed and she screams—no fair! She was taken outside the gate and put to death. Sin must not be tolerated. It must be removed. That may mean that you have to separate yourself from an ungodly situation or person.

As long as Jehoiada was priest and advising him, Joash did what the LORD said was right. He rebuilt the temple. But later when Jehoiada died, Joash began to listen to others and he stopped worshiping the LORD. II Chronicles 24:19 - "Even though the LORD sent prophets to the people to turn them back to him and even though the prophets warned them, they refused to listen." God sent Jehoiada's son Zechariah to talk to the people. II Chronicles 24:20b - "This is what God says: 'Why do you disobey the LORD's commands? You will not be successful. Because you have left the LORD, he has also left you.' "

Did they listen to him and repent and return to the Lord? No. The king and his officers instead made plans against Zechariah and stoned him to death. Zechariah was the son of Jehoiada, the person who had done so much for Joash and was so respected by the people that when he died at the age of 135 years old, they buried him in Jerusalem with the kings! Yet by this time, Joash was so far away from the LORD that he didn't even remember what Jehoiada the priest (and his uncle) had done for him. As Zechariah was dying he said, "May the LORD see what you are doing and punish you." (II Chronicles 24:22)

By the end of the year it happened. The Arameans came against Joash. The Arameans were just a small little army compared to the large army of Judah, "but the LORD handed over Judah to them" because the people of Judah had left the God of their ancestors. So Joash was punished. Joash was wounded by the enemy, but it was his own officers who killed him as lay in his own bed. He died and was buried, but not with the kings. 

How sad. Joash started well but ended in failure. I don't want to just start well. I want to finish well.   


Next Entry: II Chronicles 25:1 – 26:23

II Chronicles 16:1 – 19:3 (Continued)

July 15, 2014

Jehoshaphat (king of Judah), became entwined with Ahab (king of Israel) because his son married Ahab's daughter. Ahab—who rarely followed God's teachings; and Jehoshaphat—who followed God's teaching. In Jane's (Her Name Was Jane) Bible she has written: danger ahead. Indeed. When you align yourself with those who are not like-minded with you, there is danger ahead.

Jehoshaphat knew he was going against God's commands, but he did it anyways.

Ahab wants to go to war and he wants Jehoshaphat to join him. Jehoshaphat wants to make sure it is God's will. Ahab just wants to do what he wants to do. He has a group of 400 "prophets" that will tell him whatever he wants to hear. Ahab despises the one prophet who is honest about what God wants. Jehoshaphat wants to hear what the LORD'S prophet has to say. Micaiah (the Lord's prophet) says—don't do it. Don't go to war. Your plans won't work. In fact, what you don't understand is this: God is fed up with your refusal to follow his teachings. You think those 400 men are just telling you what you want to hear. Wrong. They are being used by God to fool you into going into battle because of your refusal to submit to His authority. Ahab became angry. He refused to listen, and put Micaiah in jail. Ahab (in his typical arrogant fashion) said to only give Micaiah bread and water until he returned safe from the battle. Micaiah replied, "If you come back safely" then the LORD hasn't spoken through me. "Remember my words, all you people."

So, Ahab does what Ahab wants to do and he goes into battle. But Ahab wasn't completely confident in his victory. Somewhere in the back of his mind there was some doubt and fear. So he tells Jehoshaphat to wear his royal clothes, but Ahab wore other clothes so no one would recognize him. How nice of him. He set up his "friend" as a means to protect himself. Ahab's plan most likely would have worked, but God stepped in and intervened. The only person the king of Aram wanted was Ahab. When they saw Jehoshaphat in royal clothing they were ready to attack him. But Jehoshaphat shouted, "... and the LORD helped him." And then, by chance, (God) a soldier shot a random arrow and it struck Ahab between his pieces of armor. Ahab was dead by sunset.

By chance, was actually the Hand of God. The army that was ready to attack Jehoshaphat was stopped by God. II Chronicles 18:31 - "The LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him." (KJV) God protects those who call on Him; He holds accountable those who have turned their backs on Him. We control whether we submit ourselves to the authority of God and obey His teachings. God controls all the rest.

Jehoshaphat returns. God sends a seer to him and asks, "Why did you help evil people? Why do you love those who hate the LORD?" Because of the choices Jehoshaphat made, the LORD was angry with him and he was faced with new troubles and the same problems of aligning himself with those who were not like-minded.


Next Entry: II Chronicles 19:4 – 21:3

II Chronicles 8:1 – 9:31

November 03, 2010

These chapters talk about Solomon and his achievements and wealth. For everything Solomon did right, he also got caught up in doing wrong. He knew he was going down a dangerous path—but he did it anyways. Solomon was told specifically NOT to marry/join women who had other gods. He wanted to do what he wanted to do... so he did. Consequences soon followed and his actions caused his downfall.

Solomon knew it was wrong. (II Chronicles 8:11) Solomon married the daughter of the king of Egypt. He did not bring her to live where the Ark had been because those places were holy. So, he instead built her another place to live. You can't compromise, doing what you know is against God's clear instructions, and not be affected by it. The more wealthy Solomon became the more self-reliant he became. Solomon replaced his reliance on God with self-reliance.

Today's Life Lesson is about the need to appear like someone/something you are not. What you look and/or act like on the outside and the disconnect with what is on the inside.

"The truth is that you are empty on the inside and you're faking it on the outside. Not one thing in all your "kingdom" has brought you the happiness you long for. So you're thinking... maybe if..."  

 "Money has never made anyone rich. Want riches? Then listen to Jesus. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you." Then, in the application part it says, "Is wealth your aim? Put that dream aside and give priority to God. Do something today to curb the appetite for money and be content with what you have." ~ From Living on the Ragged Edge by Charles Swindoll.

Well said. 


Next Entry: II Chronicles 10:1 – 11:17

II Samuel 11:1 – 12:31

July 21, 2010

David trusted the LORD for so many things in his life. Protection from wild animals, fighting Goliath, protection from Saul, and the many battles that he faced with other kings to name a few. But then he became comfortable in his own abilities... and the trouble began. His men go off to war as normal but he stays back. He sees a beautiful woman and decides that he wants her. He know she is the wife of Uriah, but he wants her (not for his wife, just for sex) and he is going to have her. So, he sends for someone to get her, and she later becomes pregnant.

Now David has a huge problem. Her husband is off at war so the truth of his actions could be exposed. So, he sends for her husband to come back for a few days from the war thinking Uriah will sleep with his wife then Uriah (and anyone else) will never know what happened. The problem was that Uriah came home but he didn't go to his wife's house. He was loyal to the army and the Ark of God and felt it was wrong for him to have comfort and live normally while they were still in battle. His actions don't fit with David's plan and schemes. So, David invites Uriah over and gets him drunk thinking that will cause Uriah to lose his integrity and go home to his wife. But David's plan doesn't work and Uriah still doesn't go home. So, David takes his scheme to a new low and he sends a message with Uriah to give to Joab. The message told Joab to put Uriah on the front lines so he would be killed in battle. David was later told that his plan worked. He felt no remorse. His answer was basically c'est la vie, what will be will be. 

David didn't just slip up and "fall" into these sins. He actively pursued them. He sent for Bathsheba. He sent for Uriah to come home. He sent for Uriah to come and eat and drink with him. He sent Uriah back to the war carrying his own death sentence. He sent Joab a message saying to get rid of Uriah. And, to back up to the beginning of this, he sent his men off to war without inquiring of the LORD whether he should do so. David had become comfortable in his own abilities and no longer depended on God.

Uriah dies. Time passes. David marries Bathsheba and moves her into the palace, and she gives birth to their son.

II Samuel 11:27 - "...but the LORD did not like what David had done."

David doesn't get it. He still doesn't see the wrongness in his action. God sends Nathan the prophet to David. Nathan tells him the story of a rich man who took from a poor man his prized and loved lamb. David was very angry at the rich man's behavior. He told Nathan, "That man should die!" David was appalled because the rich man "had no mercy." Nathan told him, "You are that man." Like our Pastor said last Sunday: NEVER underestimate your capacity for low self-awareness. 

The LORD told David through Nathan, "I appointed you... I saved you... I gave you... I made you... if that wasn't enough I would have given you more. Why did you ignore me? Why did you do what was wrong? I am bringing trouble to you from your own family." David finally "gets-it" and he recognizes his sin. Nathan tells him that the LORD has forgiven him but what he did caused other people to lose their respect for God and that his son would die. The child becomes ill. David lays on the ground and won't eat or sleep, and seven days later his son dies.

"You can be a "good" man, you can be a "great" man, you can even be a "godly" man, BUT no one gets a pass on accountability. We will ALL stand before the LORD and give an accounting for our actions."  

Pride led to David's downfall. David sinned in private, but he was held publicly accountable. What he thought was hidden brought him public humiliation. "While you watch, I will take your wives from you and give them to someone who is very close to you... and everyone will know it... you sinned in secret, but I will do this so all the people in Israel can see it." (II Samuel 11:11-12)

David and Bathsheba later have Solomon. The LORD loved Solomon. David sought forgiveness and he was forgiven and blessed again. But his consequences for his choices continued throughout his lifetime.

We all need to be aware of our "fatal flaws." Total surrender and our commitment to God cannot just be during the stormy times or we will be in danger of  becoming self-sufficient, and like David, we will suffer the consequences of our choices. 


Next Entry: II Samuel 13:1 – 14:33

I Samuel 27:1–12

July 7, 2010

David decides to go and live with the Philistines as a way to avoid Saul chasing him.But, there-in lies the problem. David decided. NOT David obeying God's direction, but David on his own deciding what to do. David's decision appeared to work. Saul quit chasing him. BUT, it put David into compromising positions. He began to lie and steal. Compromise does that. It's the proverbial slippery slope. 

David did not seek out God's plan. Instead, he "thought to himself." His fear was that Saul would eventually catch him. Why the lapse in faith? Fatigue? Weariness? Length of time? We all need to understand that we are all vulnerable to reverting back to "I." David sought God's advice on other decisions, but not this one. We need to be careful to seek God's direction in ALL decisions. David thought, "the best thing "I" can do..." Only God knows what is the best thing we should do. David's "best thing" was not the best thing. We don't know what David missed out on during that year and four months he was with the Philistines, but he certainly missed out on God's "best." His deciding to do "what he thought best" also laid the ground work for him later deciding to do "what he wanted" with Bathsheba.

I don't want to miss out on God's best. What I thought "best" to do and what God directed us to do, were sometimes miles apart during these last years. Now that this much time has passed, we can reflect and look back and see how our obedience saved us from many disastrous circumstances which in turn saved us from compromise, which then saved us from ourselves and "our" ways. No regrets.

God's way is ALWAYS the best way. ALWAYS.


Next Entry: I Samuel 28:1–25