Bible in 90 Days 11: 1 KINGS

Today is Day 27 in our journey through the Bible in 90 days.

1 Kings begins a summary, in narrative form, of Israel and Judah’s many kings.

The book begins with a united kingdom under king Solomon.

Solomon began well. in Chapter 3, God gave him a chance to ask for anything he wanted. Instead of asking for the normal things people might ask for (money, fame, a lifetime supply of Fruit Roll-Ups…), he asked God for wisdom. In turn, God not only blessed him with so much wisdom that people journeyed from around the world to ask him questions, but He also gifted him with great wealth.

Solomon became the richest king who ever walked the planet. P. Diddy, 50 Cent would be so jealous of Solomon’s money (Benjamins, mullah, cash, greenbacks, C-notes) according to 1 Kings 10:27.

The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and he made cedar trees as abundant as the sycamores which are in the lowland.

Silver was so common that if you saw a bunch of silver lying around, you wouldn’t even pick it up. If you did pick it up, you might use it to skip across a lake. That is a lot of silver (and wealth in general).

He put it to good use at first by building the Temple. The Temple had been his father, David’s idea, but God told David not build it and save that for his son. So Solomon got to work on that task. The Temple was built and it was amazing – a beautiful place with gold and cedar everywhere you looked. It took 7 years to build!

He began well…but unfortunately that didn’t last. His money, fame, and desire for women took over. By 1 Kings 11, the dude had 700 wives and 300 concubines! What was the consequence of that? Exactly what God had warned of in Deuteronomy – “and his wives turned away his heart.” – 1 Kings 11:3.

Chapter 11 marks the end of the united kingdom and a long line of mostly wicked kings. The Northern Kingdom of Israel never had another Godly king. By the time we finish up 2 Kings, they’ll have gone through 20 wicked kings!

The Southern Kingdom of Judah would go on to have 11 wicked kings punctuated by 8 Godly kings.

What a solemn reminder that when God says something, He says so for a reason. He had put boundaries in place for the kings so that their hearts wouldn’t be turned away. Solomon failed, and the result was devastating not only for him, but eventually for the entire nation. Sin does not only effect you – it can devastate those around you as well.

In addition to the kings, we also met one of my favorite Bible characters, Elijah, in 1 Kings 17. This guy is incredible.

He calls a famine on the land.

He challenged hundreds of prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, defeats them, and slaughters them.

Later, he prays for rain, then outruns a chariot. You know - no big deal. A day in the life of Elijah.

He hears that Queen Jezebel wants to kill him, so he runs away and asks God to kill him (everyone hits low points in life).

The book ends with the condemnation of Ahab and his death. He had been warned by the prophet Micaiah not to go to battle or he’d be defeated. He didn’t listen, and 1 Kigns 22:34 says, “But a certain man drew his bow at random and struck the king of Isreal between the scale armor and the breastplate…”

And thus Ahab’s life was ended.

2 Kings picks up right where 1 Kings left off. In fact, most agree they were originally 1 book.

Here’s the moral of the story: let God be king. The fatal mistake for Israel began all the way back in 1 Samuel when they rejected God as king and wanted to be like every other nation with a human king. Bad mistake. Whenever your motivation is to “be like everyone else,” you can be guaranteed defeat. It’s ok to have a leader or be a leader, but make sure that whoever the human mouthpiece is, you are following God.

 

 

Bible in 90 Days 10: 2 SAMUEL

Today is Day 25 in our journey through the Bible in 90 days.

2 Samuel is, of course, the sequel to 1 Samuel. It’s the necessary compliment to its preceding book. Reading 2 Samuel without knowing what happened in 1 Samuel would be like eating spaghetti noodles without marinara and meatballs: you’d be missing so much!

The end of 1 Samuel chronicles the death of Saul and his sons in battle and 2 Samuel picks up right where it left off. In the very first chapter, David learns of the death of Saul & Jonathan, and amazingly breaks into mourning, not partying. Of course he would mourn the death of his best friend, Jonathan, but Saul too? Wouldn’t he be glad Saul was dead? No. David had regard for human life (unlike Saul).

It doesn’t take long for David to be crowned king of Judah (Ch. 2) and by Chapter 5, he’s king of Israel as well! Things are going pretty well for him.

One thing that I’m thankful for in Scripture is that the Bible doesn’t cover up for its heroes. Right in the middle of David’s kindness to Mephibosheth, thanksgiving to God, and worship, he lusts over Bathsheba, commits adultery with her, then has her husband killed to cover up her pregnancy. I’ll bet you didn’t expect that from “the man after God’s own heart,” did you?

After his interaction with Bathsheba and Uriah, her husband, in Chapter 11, things seem to take a turn for the worse: their son dies as punishment for David’s sin, one of David’s daughters, Tamar, is raped by one of his sons, another of David’s sons, Absalom, commits treason and tries to take the throne from David, his father. It’s a messy situation, but David is resolved through it all. He witnessed a man (Saul) try so hard to cling to a kingdom that had been stripped from him, and David vows not to be that man. He sits back and trusts in God to turn the kingdom over or keep David on the throne – what a man of faith!

If the book wasn’t action-packed enough for you, by Chapter 21, David ends up killing a giant with 12 toes and 12 fingers! He’s a giant-slayin’ maniac!

The book closes with David confessing more sin, dealing with its consequences, and sacrificing to God.

Here’s the thing: David wasn’t perfect. That’s obvious. Neither are you. That is also obvious. David owned his sin and turned from it. Can the same be said of you? Remember, David is ultimately remembered as a Godly king – one of the greatest who ever ruled Israel. Although he failed big time, he’s not what he did. The same is true for you.

You aren’t what you did.

Live a life defined by repentance and humility and watch God use you to change the world!

Divide & Conquer: A Revolution

Last Sunday we began a study through the book of Joshua called “Divide & Conquer.” We covered the behind-the-scenes info on Joshua, the book, and Joshua, the man. If you missed it, you can download it in our teaching archive.

Our study through Joshua isn’t just the start of a another book though. I believe it’s the beginning of a revolution.

I’ve been praying about this book for months now and I believe that the book of Joshua is a pivotal study for Awaken Church.

Personally

Joshua has been a book that God has taken me to and encouraged me through many times since we moved to Clarksville 2 years ago. I’ve been encouraged by Joshua’s faith, determination, and reliance on God’s promises and presence.

I’ve also been intrigued by Joshua’s strategies and the boldness of his prayers. Although many battle were fought in a typical military way, many were not. He was constantly strategizing about how to take down the enemy in the biggest, most God-glorifying way possible. That’s what I want to be all about.

Corporately

I also believe the story of Joshua parallels the story of Awaken Church in a few ways. For one, one of their first steps of faith in claiming the Promised Land was passing through a flooding river. Been there. Done that. Check.

In a way, Clarksville is our Canaan. It’s the land that I feel God is raising Awaken Church up to conquer (spiritually, not physically). as we rally behind the truth of God’s promises and the steadfastness of His presence, “no man shall be able to stand before us” (Joshua 1:5).

I’m praying that we would be a Joshua 24:24 church: “The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey!” If we would live that out, we will see God do unbelievable things in this city and beyond.

This is more than a Sunday morning Bible study. I believe this to be the beginning of a revolution in the city of Clarksville. If you’re in the Clarksville area, you need to join us on Sunday mornings at 10am and be a part of what God is doing.

Also, I just learned that good friend of mine and gifted Bible teacher, Levi Lusko, is also taking his church through Joshua beginning this Sunday. You can catch what God is doing in Kalispell, MT and the Flathead Valley through Fresh Life Church at freshlifechurch.com.

Bible in 90 Days 9: 1 SAMUEL

Today is Day 22 in our journey through the Bible in 90 days.

If you’ve ever heard someone say that the Bible is boring, I’d be willing to bet that they’ve never read 1 Samuel. What an epic book! By the end of it, I felt like I was watching an action movie – I couldn’t stop. I kept waiting for Russell Crowe or Denzel Washington’s names to pop up.

A major theme that flows throughout the book is the theme of God blessing His people’s faithfulness. It begins with Hannah, a broken-hearted woman, who desperately wants to have children, but is unable. She cries out to God and He hears and answers!

She dedicates her son, Samuel, to the Lord, and he is raised at the Temple, by Eli, the High Priest. He will be the guy that God uses to transition Israel into a monarchy. Before that happens, though, he calls the nation of Israel to repent and turn back to the Lord.

As we watch God bless Hannah & Samuel’s faithfulness, we see the contrast of Saul, Israel’s first king. He started off well, but quickly took a nose dive. His selfish ambition got the best of him, and within just a few chapters, he’s already being ousted as king – God has a new guy in mind – a man after His own heart.

But the guy God has in mind isn’t the guy that everyone else would naturally choose. He’s the runt of the litter, out babysitting the sheep by himself. God saw what man didn’t see, though, and David is soon summoned from the fields and anointed king!

No sooner does he receive the anointing than we see him as a pizza delivery boy (well, bread and cheese anyway) rolling in on an epic battle. He defeats a giant, cuts off his head, and calls it a day.

As God blesses David’s faithfulness, David continues to rise to power and fame, but Saul continues in his downward spiral. It’s not pretty. He even has dart practice at David’s expense.

Throughout it all, we see David faithfully following the Lord and trusting His timing. He’s a great reminder to us to stand strong and trust that when God makes a promise, He WILL follow through (even if it’s quite a few chapters away)!

The sequel to 1 Samuel is up next: 2 Samuel!

Bible in 90 Days 8: RUTH

Today is Day 20 in our journey through the Bible in 90 days.

We finished Judges and Ruth yesterday and started 1 Samuel. Ruth was the smallest book we’ve read so far – only 4 chapters. Although Ruth is a short book, it’s a gem. It also happens to be 1 of only 2 Bible books named after a woman. Do you know the other one?

Ruth is all about redemption.

Not only is it a love story (it fits great right around Valentine’s Day), but it’s a beautiful illustration of salvation.

The story of Ruth takes place during the book of Judges – a dark period of about 400 years in Israel’s history. Since we have Ruth, however, we know that not all of that 400 years was dark and idolatrous!

Ruth is an actual, historical set of events, but it goes deeper when you see the symbolism behind the story. The part of the Church (Christians) is played by Ruth and the part of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, is played by Boaz (the “kinsman-redeemer” in the story).

Ruth is a poor girl with no hope of inheritance. Her husband died and she is left alone. She moves to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law, Naomi, whose husband and sons (1 of them had been Ruth’s husband) had just died. Through God’s providence, as Ruth goes to a field to gather grain, she meets Boaz. Ruth has no hope of an inheritance unless a kinsman-redeemer can be found. There are a few specific requirements for it to work out though. The kinsman-redeemer must…

be a blood relative,

have the finances to purchase the forfeited inheritance,

be willing to buy back the inheritance,

be willing to marry the wife of the deceased.

Boaz is the man for the job. He’s able and willing to do all of the above. So, he makes the deal, pays for Ruth’s redemption, marries her, she gets pregnant with little baby Obed (who was the father of Jesse who was the father of a guy you may have heard of: David), and they live happily ever after. Nice huh?

What a beautiful picture of us an Christ…

Jesus was a blood relative – He became a man, just like us (Philippians 2:7).

He had the resources available to purchase back that which was lost. Sin required death. Jesus’ blood paid that price (Romans 5:8).

He was willing to purchase that which was lost. He humbled Himself and chose the cross (Philippians 2:8, John 10:17).

He was willing to be our groom. One day, we’ll join Him at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9).

Ruth is a short book, and just like driving through a small city on a long road trip, if you blink too long, you’ll miss its significance. If you did miss it, go back once more and enjoy it. You’ll be glad you did.

Next up: 1 Samuel!

Bible in 90 Days 7: JUDGES

Today is Day 19 in our journey through the Bible in 90 days.

Today we’ll finish up the book of Judges, read through Ruth (more on that tomorrow), and start 1 Samuel!

Judges is a fascinating book to me. Israel acts out what I’ve seen lived out in far too many lives – the downward spiral of sin.

Judges covers a period of about 400 years right after they had settled down in the Promised Land (we read about that in Joshua). It started on a high note, with the end of Joshua’s life. He had challenged them to choose who they would serve. Unanimously, they answered that they would serve God. Unfortunately, that decision didn’t last long.

Their problem began when they didn’t drive the natives out of the land like they were supposed to…

Judges 1:19 – …they could not drive out the inhabitants of the lowland, because they had iron chariots.

Judges 1:21 – But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

Judges 1:28 – And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites under tribute (forced labor), but did not completely drive them out.

The rest of the chapter gives a list of people that they didn’t drive out of the land, like they were supposed to.

Sure, they set boundaries and put the people to forced slave labor, but they still lived there. That was the problem. That’s like going in for surgery and the doctor telling you, “Yeah, we got most of the cancer out, but what’s left shouldn’t be a big deal.”

WRONG! It’s a BIG deal!

That’s evident from the very next chapter. By the end of Judges 2, Joshua is dead, and Israel is worshiping Canaanite gods. That was quick, wasn’t it? What happened to Joshua 24:18?

Chapter 3 kicks off a series of (at least) 12 judges that God raises up to deliver His people after they screw everything up…over and over again.

Othniel was the first judge. He showed King Cushan-Rishathaim of Mesopotamia (say that 10X fast!) who was boss. There was a period of 40 years of peace after that…then Othniel died and Israel turned to idols.

Next up: Ehud. He holds a special place in my heart – he’s a lefty. He told King Eglon that he wanted to tell him a secret. His secret was… a dagger into his belly. Side note: Eglon was so fat, that the dagger went into his belly, handle and all, and was covered up by his fat. No joke. That’s good reading, right there! Ehud died 80 years later, and Israel went back to idolatry.

Next was Shamgar…

then Deborah…

then Gideon,

Tola,

Jair,

Jephthah,

Ibzan,

Elon,

Abdon,

and Samson.

4 times in the book, it mentions that there was no king, and it ends on an incredibly low note…

Judges 21:25 – In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

We’ve all been here at one time or another. Struggling with the downward spiral of sin. We allow it to remain in out lives because we’ve convinced ourselves that we’re in control. We’re obviously not. So we cry out, God rescues us, we love Him for it, but sooner or later, we’re back to the same old sin.

It’s time to break the pattern. God offers a much better life than that. Are you reaching for God’s best or settling for what the world has to offer?

Bible in 90 Days 6: JOSHUA

Today is Day 18 in our journey through the Bible in 90 days.

Yesterday we finished up Joshua and began the book of Judges. Both are action-packed books, but we’ll just talk about Joshua for now…

Joshua had a pretty daunting task in front of him: take over for Moses. Not only was Moses known as the most humble man who ever lived, but he also had talked to God face to face, and led God’s people out of Egypt, through the wilderness, to the Promised Land. Joshua had his work cut out for him!

His job was to take God’s people into the Promised Land (Canaan), and conquer the cities within. All the land was theirs, the people there were theirs, but God wanted them to take a step of faith and pursue their enemies.

Just getting into the Promised Land was a step of faith…literally. They were blocked by the Jordan River, so God told Joshua to have the priests step into the river so that the water would stop. Imagine the first guy in – what a man of faith!

They had already spied out their first enemy: Jericho. It had huge, impenetrable walls that would have intimidated anyone…unless you’re God. God laughed at Jericho’s walls and came up with a game plan on how to prove He was behind the defeat. After 7 days of marching (not battling) around Jericho’s walls, the men of Israel shouted, and just like London Bridge, Jericho came falling down! They rushed in and plundered the city.

They learned a hard lesson after that. Ai was a much smaller, less-intimidating city, so they weren’t scared to go to battle there. However, on their first attempt, they got beat down. What happened?

Sin happened.

God had told them not to take anything from Jericho, but Achan didn’t listen. Because of his sin, 36 Israelite soldiers died in battle and Israel couldn’t beat Ai. Not for long though. Sin was rooted out and destroyed, and Ai was severely beat down. And so were the kings of…

Bethel,

Jerusalem,

Hebron,

Jarmuth,

Lachish,

…and 24 other kings.

They spared us most of the details in Joshua, but you get the point – it was a bloody book.

The second half of Joshua relates how the land was divided between the 12 tribes of Israel. It’s a bit boring to read, but of course that’s because it’s not our land and we’re removed from the action. If a similar list of land that we were to inherit was compiled in our day, we’d be pretty interested. It is, however, the pinnacle of the book and the fulfillment of a promise that began back in Genesis 12!

I love Joshua 21:45. It describes not only the first 6 books of the Bible, but also the rest of human history…

“Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” – Joshua 21:45

As if the book wasn’t good enough already, it ends with an epic conclusion. Joshua gathers the whole nation together and charges them to choose whom they will serve. If they want to serve the false Canaanite gods, they’re more than welcome to do so. However, history tells them Who the real God is and that is Who Joshua and his family chooses to serve.

Missing Moses by just a decade, Joshua dies at the ripe old age of 110. He died doing what I want to do when I die – challenging people to follow after God!

Like the book of Joshua, life is a constant battle. We make progress when, by faith, we take God at His word, and follow His lead regardless of how impossible things may seem. However, we fight against ourselves when we get greedy and allow compromise to sneak in. Don’t tolerate it.

“Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve!” – Joshua 24:15

We begin a verse-by-verse study through the book of Joshua this Sunday at Awaken Church, called “Divide & Conquer.” Join us on Sundays at 10am or download/watch the teachings in our teaching archive.

Bible in 90 Days 5: DEUTERONOMY

Today is Day 16 in our journey through the Bible in 90 days.

We made it all the way through the Torah, the first 5 books of the Old Testament! Congrats! That’s 187 chapters in just over 2 weeks! You’ve already passed the mark of where most people give up on reading through the Bible. Keep up the good work!

Deuteronomy is often called “The Book of Remembrance” because Moses recounts the last 40 years of Israel’s history and trek through the wilderness. They had been in that same location before, but because of their unbelief, God delayed their entry. It’s like in P.E. at school when you didn’t follow the rules and the coach made you take a lap. God made Israel take a lap too…for 40 years.

Deuteronomy is a very important book of the Bible. It’s so important that when a new king took the throne, they were supposed to write out the whole book by hand and read it every day for the rest of their lives (see Deut. 17:18-20)! Not only that, but Deuteronomy is the one book of the Bible that Jesus quoted from when He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness!

Moses spends most of the book giving out God’s laws again, promising God’ faithfulness again, and reminding them to be faithful to God… again.

Deuteronomy 12:32 sums it up well…

“Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it.”

In Deuteronomy 31, Moses passes the torch onto Joshua, who will lead Israel across the Jordan River, into the Promised Land. Joshua is a bloody book of conquest and war…but more on that in the next blog post!

Imagine young Joshua up there, in front of 2 million+ Jews, standing next to a legend in the faith, 120-year-old Moses. What a humbling/scary situation. Joshua sets an example of faith and dependence on the Lord. Although the task is too big for one man to handle, he accepts the responsibility and boldly steps forward to fill Moses’shoes (sandals).

I wish we had a recording of Deuteronomy 32 – it’s Moses singing a song he wrote! I don’t know what kind of a voice he had, but that is beside the point. He once had the wealth and fame of the world’s most powerful nation at his fingertips, but he gave it all up for the most grueling, yet rewarding years of his life – leading God’s people out of Egypt, through the wilderness, to the Promised Land.

He wasn’t perfect, but he gave it his all.

Deuteronomy sets a good precedent for us. At times, it’s important for us to sit back and recall all the God has done. Despite the ways we’ve been unfaithful, God remains faithful. That’s what He does! Have you thanked Him for that lately?

Her Past Is Not Her Future

I love that title – it’s so reassuring that what you’ve done doesn’t have to define who you are.

I’ve also heard it said, “You aren’t what you did.” Same idea.

In just under two weeks, Awaken Church will welcome a woman from Brisbane, Australia, who embodies that statement. Her name is Bronwen Healy and she used to be a drug-addicted prostitute on the verge of death. Years later, she now runs an organization called The Hope Foundation that helps girls who are struggling with those same issues, she speaks around the country (and now the world), and shares the hope of Christ through her story.

I did an interview with her a few months back. You can read that HERE. That is one of my most-read blog posts – it gets read by at least someone almost every single day!

I’ve known Bronwen for over a year now. I had the opportunity to design a CD layout for The Hope Foundation last April. The CD was a compilation of a few different artists (David Crowder, Jimmy Needham, Chris Tomlin, and more) and was titled “Her Past Is Not Her Future.” We had no idea that a year later, Bronwen would be on her way to the U.S. to speak on that very topic!

Bronwen will join us on Sunday, May 29, at Awaken Church. I’ll interview her briefly on Sunday morning during the service, then that night, the whole city is invited to come hear her story at 6pm. It will be a powerful night as she takes us back into some of what she used to struggle with and shows us how Christ saved her from it. She is proof that your past does not have to be your future!

Don’t be scared of the content though. She assured me of this: “I am not raw & untamed with my past…only my future. I’m raw FOR Jesus – as in, unashamed of my love, need & surrender for Him.” It is sure to be a powerful night!

Make plans to join us at 10am and/or 6pm if you’re in the area!

RSVP on Facebook to spread the word!

Bible in 90 Days 4: NUMBERS

Today is Day 13 in our journey through the Bible in 90 days.

We finished up Numbers today and moved into the final book of the Torah, Deuteronomy.

Numbers was an adventure for sure. Thankfully, it’s not a math textbook like its title makes it seem.

There were plenty of numbers though – the first 2 chapters were all about the census that God commanded Moses to take of the people. I wonder if he was even shocked to find out that he had been given charge over 603,550 people! I know I would be!

603,550 is the number that Numbers 1:45 and 2:32 gives from the census, but that didn’t count everyone. That was only 11 of the 12 tribes (the tribe of Levi was not included in the census) and only included males twenty years and older who were able to fight in the army!

So, their army was made up of 603,550 men, but if you included women and children in that number, there were probably about 2 million people in the wilderness, under Moses’ care! That’s more people than live in Wyoming, Vermont, and North Dakota combined! Just imagine being put in charge of over 2 million people. Moses had to rely on God, which is exactly where God likes for us to be – forced into complete submission to Him.

In Numbers, God also dealt out the responsibilities of the Levites and a few other groups. The whole nation celebrated their second Passover together (imagine the volume of unleavened bread and wine they went through!).

Nobody likes a whiner. Especially God…

Although God’s people started whining (which made God really mad), He still provided for them and took care of them.

Not only did the nation as a whole complain, but so did Moses’ siblings, Aaron and Miriam. That also didn’t make God too stoked. God hates when we complain. In effect, you’re telling Him that what He’s given isn’t good enough.

The whining continued when the spies went into Canaan and saw how “scary” the enemies were. Their fear got the best of them, and they successfully persuaded almost everyone else that God wasn’t quite strong enough to get them into the promised land. Again, God wasn’t happy, so for each of the 40 days they had spied out the land, God sentenced the doubters to a year of wandering the wilderness. 40 years later, their sons and daughter would be back and enter the same land they thought they wouldn’t be able to enter.

Other cool things…

God promised to provide so much quail for them to eat that it would come out their nostrils. Yummy. Nose quail.

Korah, who challenged Moses leadership, was swallowed by the earth. Apparently it was hungry.

God told Moses to speak to a rock, but he was mad, so he hit it. Bad choice. Goodbye, Promised Land.

Balaam and his donkey got in an argument. For real.

Numbers is an action-packed book, but also an attack-packed book. God’s people revolted against Him often. Sometimes He gave them a little taste of what they deserved, but over all, He was very kind and forgiving. He continued to provide. God was able and willing to do great, miraculous things for His people, but they didn’t believe Him, so He didn’t.

It gives a good view of how rotten humans are and how faithful God is.

Is that your story? Are you a doubter? a whiner? a pessimist? God is able to do things you can’t even dream up. Will you let Him be God and provide for you in miraculous ways, or will you cower away and miss out instead?