More Time

Day three hundred

I am often hesitant to post information that might be too personal to share.  I don't find it necessary that everyone know all the details of my life.  Yesterday I struggled with the decision of whether or not to share my experience with my husband.  The promptings were there, but I was fearful of giving too much information.  It took me a while to work up the courage to trust the promptings and write it.

Today I am grateful that I chose to be brave and share it. I received some positive feedback from that post and I learned a little more about trusting the Spirit.  My prayer this morning was filled with gratitude for learning experiences like this one and for a Father who knows me so well that He keeps pushing me to be better.  Thanks for not giving up on me!

2 Kings 20

Have you ever found yourself saying, "I wish I had more time!"  There just isn't enough time in the day or week to get everything we need to get done. Time is a precious commodity that there just never seems to be enough of! Have you ever thought about going to the Lord and saying, "Lord I need more time." 

Well in chapter 20 that is exactly what king Hezekiah does.  He is told that he needs to set his house in order because he is going to die.  Wow! How would you respond and what would you have to change? Upon hearing the news of impending death Hezekiah turns to prayer and tear-filled pleas to the Lord to give him more time.  God hears him and grants him his wish, Hezekiah is given 15 more years to live.

What would you do if you were given more time? How would you divide your time?  More work, play, family, worship, or free time? Do you think that you might stop and evaluate the purpose of your activities during this time?  So much to think about!

Hezekiah's words after he was healed from his sickness are found in Isaiah 38.  There he talks about praising, celebrating, and singing to God.  He was going to dedicate his life to God.  Unfortunately, this doesn't last long.  It is interesting that Hezekiah asks God to give him more time, but he doesn't seek His advice on how he should use it.

It would be nice to sit and daydream about what we would do with more time, but the reality of our situation is that we are all going to have to give an account for what we have done with the time God has given us. I am not sure that asking for more time is appropriate for all of us, instead we should be asking ourselves, What am I doing with the time that I already have? 

At the end of chapter 20 we learn that Hezekiah does not use his gift of time wisely.  He misses opportunities, he becomes prideful, and he raises an evil son.  He will learn that his actions during this time will lead to the conquering of the people and that even his sons will be made servants.  From the perspective of eternity you can only wonder if Hezekiah felt like – I should have died when I had the chance.

There are a few things I needed to be reminded of in this chapter:

Be grateful for the time we have been given

Only the Lord knows when our time is up

The Lord hears and answers our prayers

Seek the Lord's advice in planning my time

Live like every moment counts

and Be careful what you ask for!

I would like to end with this poem:

Spending Time With God

You have some time alone my friend, a time alone you can spend,
A time of quiet contemplation, alone with the God of your salvation.
Time between just the two of you, to speak of things you need to do,
Things in life that must be done, where you need to lean on the Son

You are never alone anyway, as God is with you throughout the day,
Christ is there if you need to talk, and goes with you when you walk.
You can talk with God anytime, to share what may be on your mind,
Even talk to Him about tomorrow, sharing both your joy and sorrow.

When you come to plan your day, God will guide you along the way,
Even before you begin your task, He knows what your heart will ask.
Use the time to remember too, the things that God has done for you,
When you knew not what to do, God would always see you through.

For nobody truly cares for you, in the way which God and Jesus do.
Jesus Christ shall intercede for us, when in Him we place our trust,
With God the Father Jesus will sit, as Christ becomes our advocate.
As believers call upon the Father, for God and Christ it is no bother.

God calls us to the Throne of Grace, so that we can seek His face,
All are welcomed to the Throne, who know Christ as their very own.
So when you get some time alone, seek The Lord upon His Throne,
And you will find the time you spend, with God alone will never end.

Bob Gotti

May every minute of your day count!

The Perfect Answer

Day two hundred ninety-nine

I have mentioned in previous posts that I live in a house where depression is a real obstacle.  My husband and my two sons all have varying degrees of depression.  One of the problems we have talked about in our home is the fact that when depression sets in it makes it difficult to feel the Spirit.  Over the years this has often taken a toll on the testimony of the men in my life.  How can they know that something is real if the Spirit can't testify to them that it is real?  It has been a real dilemma.

Throughout it all I have tried to be the person that they could lean on during these times. My testimony has had to carry them through some of these difficult times, which I am thankful for, but it can be exhausting at times.  It is hard enough to feed yourself spiritually,then add three more people looking to be fed.  It can be overwhelming.

To be honest, I chose this path.  When depression first showed itself in my family I had to make a choice, do I leave and not deal with this or do I stay and fight for what I believe in?  I chose to fight and I have never stopped. 

Along the way I have been shown glimpses of what kind of spirits are trapped in my husband and sons.  I use the word trapped because I know that's how they feel when they are depressed.  They want to be happy and believe, but the depression traps them in a cycle of hopelessness.

I was fortunate to have a glimpse into the spirit of my husband last night.  He is a spiritual giant inside his imperfect human body.  He touched my heart more than I can express in words, but I would like to try.  His words humbled me, filled me, and gave me hope!

In our home we have pictures of Jesus hanging on the wall near the stairwell.  In all the pictures Jesus is smiling.  I have done this on purpose, it is to remind each of us that we need to behave in such a way that when we meet Jesus that is how He will react.  

Well we are painting the inside of the house so the pictures were down and we ended up talking about how we needed to put the picture back up so that we could see it.  The conversation led to a discussion with questions like, Would you change your behavior, your words, or actions if Christ we really here in our home?  

While we were discussing this, a commercial came on the radio for a club in Portland that could be called a den of iniquity.  My son asked what would Jesus say if He found you outside of that club?  This was a good question and as my thoughts went to trying to find an answer, my husband spoke the perfect answer.  He said, "Jesus would say, 'You won't find what you are looking for in there. Come with me.'"  Wow!  In that moment I got to see the spiritual giant awakened.  My husband, who struggles everyday with his relationship with God, was perfectly in tune with God in that moment and my whole family was there to witness it. 

This was a teaching moment for me.  I am usually the one who has to come up with the perfect answer and this time it came from him.  I underestimate him sometimes, his wisdom is deeper than he lets others see.  How grateful I am that God knows him well enough to create an environment where my husband feels comfortable sharing his thoughts.  What a great gift to my family.

I am sharing this because I think there are others out there that find themselves in the same situation.  It is difficult to carry the burdens that come with depression for all involved.  The Lord is aware of this, that's why we have these special moments like this one.  He is letting us know that He loves us, He hears us, and He answers our prayers.  He is giving us hope.  I hope you will take the time to remember the perfect answer moments in your life, and to have hope that you will have more in the future. 

Deliverance

Day two hundred ninety-eight

I have been thinking about the sacrifices we make for each other.  It always amazes me how willing some people are to sacrifice for others.  I have been fortunate to have people who love me in my life that are willing to make hard sacrifices on my behalf.  I prayed with gratitude for these people in my life, for the example they have set for me.  I asked the Lord to bless them for their sacrifices.  I also asked Him to give me the opportunity to give back to them somehow, so that I too might be an example to those who watch me.  May we all be willing to love each other enough to make the sacrifices we need to make!

2 Kings 19
The Assyrian empire is now the world dominating empire. Besides the many other nations that they have besieged and taken into captivity, they also have taken the Northern Kingdom of Samaria into captivity. And now their focus is the Southern Kingdom of Judah.

At first king Hezekiah was able to fight off these invasions, but over a period of time he gave in to Sennacherib, king of Assyria, and paid him tribute money to not invade them any more. But the money was not enough, the king of Assyria wants total control of Judah and its people. So he sends his representatives to king Hezekiah's representatives, and the offer is simple. They either surrender to the Assyrians or their city will be destroyed and they will be taken captive anyway. The incentive to surrender was simple to see, behind these three Assyrian representatives stood 185,000 Assyrian soldiers.

Now as we move into 2 Kings 19, Hezekiah's three representatives are going to inform him of the Assyrian demands. And they approach the king with their clothes torn, a sign of mourning, and they tell the king that things do not look good, we are in trouble!

Hezekiah calls on the prophet Isaiah for help and goes to the Lord in prayer.  What a great example, seek advice from someone you know will tell you the will of God, not just what you want to hear, and also seek the Lord's will for yourself.

The Lord hears and answers in a big way. God's deliverance in this situation was miraculous. He sent a single angel into the camp of the Assyrians, who killed 185,000 of them in the night. Angels are not creatures to be messed with! 

There are some things we learn from this awesome act:

We learn the end of those that boast.
2 Chron 32:21 "And the Lord sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword."

We learn not to be afraid of boasters.
Psalm 44:7 "But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us."

We learn the advantage of entire reliance on the Lord.
2 Chron 32:8  "With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah."

When you see what one angel did here, you get a better understanding of the power that was in the hands of Jesus during His arrest when he said in Matthew 26:53: "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?"

One legion was 6,000 soldiers, which would mean that Jesus could call more than 72,000 angels to His side, more than enough to deal with the problem if He wanted to.  How foolish to war with God!

It is important that we understand that God brings deliverance in different ways.  It doesn’t always happen overnight with a single event.  Sometimes deliverance takes a long time (think of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt for 400 years).  Then again, He doesn’t always make the problems disappear, some challenges are a lifetime pursuit.  However, we know that He is watching over us and He takes care of us.  If we know Him, he will deliver us.

Psalm 91:14 "Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name."

There have been times in my life when I have recognized that the Lord had delivered me.  I have been fortunate to have some powerful experiences that testify to me that He hears our prayers and loves us.  But mostly, I have learned to recognize that there is no such thing as coincidence, it is only God's work in disguise.

It's stories like this one that put things in perspective; God is the same now as He was then.  If He wanted to send an angel down to us, He would.  If God says He will deliver us, He will.  There is no reason to doubt Him!

Keeping Silent

Day two hundred ninety-seven

Yesterday as I was heading to work I was dragging.  I hadn't slept well the night before and I was already tired and all I'd done was get ready for work.  So I said a prayer asking for the obvious, then I put on some get-me-going music.  Soon I was singing out loud and moving in my seat, I must have looked ridiculous to the other drivers!  It didn't matter because by the time I got to work I was amped and ready to take on the day.  I am so grateful for a God that puts good music in my life.  I don't know how I would get through some days without it!

2 Kings 18

Out of all the kings that reigned in the divided kingdom, Hezekiah was probably the best. He was trying to bring true reform to a nation that was in need of reform. He brought spiritual revival back into the land. He tore down the high places. He wanted to go all out and not just bring a partial reform to the land, and thus, he removed the high places, something the other kings did not do.

Hezekiah also had to deal with the problem of paying tribute to the Assyrian king Sennacherib. Hezekiah gives the king of Assyria the money he asked for, but we are going to see that it won't be enough. Whenever you give in to the enemy, whenever you compromise to the enemy, it will never be enough. He will always want more!

Besides sending a large army to Jerusalem, Sennacherib sends his representatives to meet with Hezekiah.  He sends Tartan, Rabsaris, and Rabshakeh. It is believed that these were not the names of these men, but their titles. The Tartan was the commander and chief. The Rabsaris was the chief officer. And the Rabshakeh was the chief of staff.

Their mission was to get Hezekiah to surrender and if he refused, then destroy the city and take the people captive. Of course it is always easier to try and talk things out, for it cost you no men if they agree to the surrender. And if they do agree, then you have just captured the city without waging war upon it.  And remember, it was not just these three guys standing at the wall of the city, behind them stood the Assyrian army, a sort of incentive to surrender.

Hezekiah does not even come out to meet these guys but sends out his own representatives, three men. And these men of Judah are standing upon the wall of the city looking down on these Assyrian representatives. Now Rabshakeh will do the talking for the Assyrians because he knows Hebrew.

Notice how this guy shows no respect to the king of Judah. He is arrogant and rude. And he is challenging them to show him why they should be so confident, especially when the Assyrian army is surrounding the city. 

It is the response to the accusations, lies, and threats that impresses me most.  The people respond with silence (v 36). They had been commanded by Hezekiah not to answer. What a great way to deal with threats, lies, and accusations!

The scriptures say:

Prov. 11:12 "...a man of understanding keeps silent." (We have that example in Jesus. When He was being falsely accused.)

Isa. 53:7 "He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth."

When you don't know what to say, it is always less regrettable to say nothing than to have to explain why you said what you did.

Prov. 17:28 "Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise; When he closes his lips, he is {counted} prudent."

Sometimes it’s better to be silent, than to answer.

Here is what to do when you are taunted or laughed at for following God or His will, hand it over to Him!  Leave Him to answer for you and to avenge your wrongs.  He will take your case if you leave it unreservedly in His hands.

While God is taking care of the problem He has told us to:

Col 3:2 "Set your affection (mind) on things above, not on things on the earth."  In other words, we have more important things we should be thinking about than the taunts from others.

The next time you feel like you are being attacked and you just want to argue back think about this:  If there was a time for the people of Judah to be silent and a time for Christ to be silent, won’t there be those times for us too?

Remember this from Ecclesiastes 3:7, there is “... a time to keep silence, and a time to speak"

Lions Among Them

Day two hundred ninety-six

We have this dry erase board in our house that started its life as a chore board, but evolved into a quote/thoughts board.  This week the board read:  I have been blessed with.... Yesterday as I was looking at the board I saw that someone responded with one word -- "enough."  Wow, I was blown away by the depth of that answer.  What a great perspective that person has on life.  My prayer this morning was filled with gratitude for having "enough", and for having someone in my home that recognizes "enough".  I hope the Lord continues to bless us with "enough."

2 Kings 17:25

"And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the Lord: therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which slew some of them."

 At this point in Israel's history they have been made captives of Assyria and have been spread out among the land. The king of Assyria brought in men from different areas and transplanted them in Samaria.  Part of the grand Assyrian plan was to mix the nations up to keep nationalistic fervor down.  As these people mix in with the few remaining Israelites, the result was the race known as the Samaritans. (2 Kings 17:23-24)

 The problem is the people didn't believe in God.  So the Lord sent lions among them, and the lions slew some of them.  We aren't given a count of the dead, but we know that the lions killed enough people to raise concerns among the inhabitants!

It might sound wrong to say this, but I kind of like this actually.  It is a great reminder that God can take care of Himself.  We so often feel like we have to try and help God out and defend Him.  And there is a proper time to defend our faith in the Lord. But God is quite able, all by Himself, to get His point across.

We saw it when the Israelites faced the Philistines.

1 Sam 4 - Israel thought if they had their favorite “good luck charm” with them, maybe they’d beat the Philistines for once. So they took the Ark of the Covenant into battle with them. God is not about to let us treat Him like a “good luck charm”, so He allowed the Israelites to lose, even losing the Ark to the Philistines.

1 Sam 5 - The Philistines thought they’d put the Ark into the temple of their god, Dagon, to show who was really boss. But when they got up in the morning, their god had fallen over in front of the Ark. 

God can take care of Himself just fine.  Though God may choose to work through us some times, there are times when it is really best if we just stay out of His way!

Besides recognizing that God is capable of taking care of Himself, there is also the lesson that He takes care of His people.  Israel needed it's God and when people got in the way of that, He provided a way for them to get it.  The lions killing people led to the king allowing a priest to be put back among the people so that they could be taught "the manner of the God of the land" (v 27).

What does God do for us when we lose sight of Him? What lions has the Lord sent among us?  What are the things He has put in our lives that bring us back to Him?

For each person the details may be different, but there are a few basic things the Lord puts in our lives to help us stay focused:

People to warn us (a prophet, family, friends, etc).  Sometimes this comes in the form of gentle proddings and other times it is an in-your-face encounter.  Whatever it takes to get His message across to you.

Trials and tribulations.  There are different degrees of trials and tribulations.  Some are overcome quickly and build our confidence in ourselves and God; others can last a lifetime and they really test our faith.  These are the real character building experiences that lead to self-evaluation and life-altering changes. 

Withholds the Spirit.  You know that there are some big changes you need to make in your life when the Lord withholds the Spirit.  Usually this happens when you are having worthiness issues.  It's not that He doesn't want to talk to you, but you aren't keeping your end of the bargain.  This is one of the toughest of the lions in a persons life, but it has to be if it is to help us see that what we are doing is wrong and we need to be led to repentance.  Conquering our pride and being humbled enough to see that we need to repent requires a lot of pain and effort on both parts.

Being conquered.  If we need to be taken down a notch or two the Lord is not above letting us get our little rear ends kicked every once in a while.  It is in the moments when we feel helpless that we are most likely to turn to Him.  It isn't the ideal way to lean on Him, but it does get our attention.

These are just a few of the 'lions' that I see the Lord using in this chapter and in my own life. When you think about the lions sent to kill the people, you imagine these seriously ferocious creatures chasing people down.  After studying this chapter I think of the lions as God's way of taking care of me.  He chases me down so that I don't lose my way and He doesn't lose me.  The lions don't seem so scary anymore.

Be Still, Fear Not, and Believe

Day two-hundred ninety-five

I have not been feeling a hundred percent the last few days, but I still have to get everything done.  So this morning I prayed that the Lord would bless my body with the strength to get me through the next few days until I can get some rest. Carry on, Carry on, Carry on! 

2 Kings 15-16

In chapter 15 we briefly saw 35 years of turmoil and wickedness.  Idolatry, conspiracies, and war are rampant during this time and Assyria has captured much of Israel.  

Chapter 16 brings us back to Judah and king Ahaz.  This king is given a unique description for a king of Judah, "he walked in the way of the kings of Israel" (2 Kings 16:3).  Ahaz is going to follow the the example of the wicked kings of Israel.  He is so bad that he institutes child sacrifice in the name of worshipping Molech.  He even sacrifices his own son! This becomes one of the lowest points in the nation of Judah’s history.

Meanwhile, Syria and Israel have teamed up to come against Judah.  They have had some victories, but haven't been able to over throw Judah.  Judah is in a panic, they need a plan. Their current plan seems to be to worship anything that they think will help.  They are described as having hearts that are "as the trees of the wood are moved with the wind"  (Isaiah 7:2).  They are easily distracted from God.

Now is the time that God sends the prophet Isaiah to Ahaz with a message.  We find this message recorded in Isaiah chapter 7.  There are a few points made in the Lord's message to Ahaz that I thought were interesting:

"Take heed, and be quiet;" (v 4)
Notice the first thing the Lord has Isaiah say to these people who were wavering in fear, "Take heed and be quiet."  This is a common message from the Lord for those who are filled with worry and fear.  Be still.

Why does the Lord do that? I think it is because he knows our tendency to complain, to react in a worldly way in the mist of difficulties.  Instead of praying and resting, we react.  The Lord knows how damaging that can be.  He tells us:

"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth" (Psalms 46:10)

"In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength:" (Isa 30:15). 

There is a need for being still, for waiting on the Lord, and waiting for the Lord.  We wait to hear His voice and to know His will.  We wait to know He is God.

"fear not, neither be fainthearted" (v 4)
So after Isaiah tells them to be quiet he tells them that they don't need to fear.  Why?  Because the enemies are just 'smoking firebrands' (smoking sticks that have been in the fire).  When Ahaz looked at the enemy he saw a terrible threat, when God looked at them he saw two stubs of smoking sticks.  To the Lord, they were all smoke and no fire!  It is interesting how we see things so different from God.

Why does God give them that description?  It is because He sees what Ahaz doesn't, He knows the plans of the enemy and He knows, "It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to pass"  (Isa 7:7).

"If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established." (v 9)
Basically what He is saying is, "If you are not going to believe the word of the Lord then you will not be established."  What does the Lord mean by the word established?  He means creating a relationship with Him on a firm, permanent basis.  A relationship that cannot be shaken from its foundation.

If the people of Judah choose to believe in God, they will strengthen their relationship with Him and they can receive all the blessings that come from that, including protection.  If they choose not to believe, they will continue to be shaken, tossed about, and scared.  Anything but established!

This is such a good word for us to consider. Just as God wanted Judah to be established with Him, He also wants us to establish a strong relationship with Him.  This verse gives us the key to how to establish this type of relationship: Believing in the Lord and acting on it.  

A good example of this principle is in Proverbs 24: 

"Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches." (Pro 24:3-4)

Wisdom is knowledge applied! It is putting what we know and understand into practice. Believe and be ESTABLISHED! 

So God gives this word of assurance to Ahaz and this challenge – will you believe and be established or will you not believe and be tossed? Sadly, the king will choose to believe in another man and his army, instead of God. 

We have all found ourselves in a position where we have to step out in faith and take God for His word or we choose a more worldly answer.  We do not always choose God's way, but other times we will, and when we do we are building a stronger foundation.  I once heard a pastor say, "Faith is not a trampoline, it is a rock!"  I like that analogy.

Be Still, Fear Not, and Believe is the message I found in these verses. It led me to ask myself, am I willing to listen, trust, and have faith in the Lord? Do I want to be tossed around or do I want the security of knowing where I stand?  Although being tossed around on a trampoline is fun for a while, I always want to get back to steady ground. The same is true with my relationship with God, it is sometimes fun to be a part of the world, but I always come back to the steadiness of the gospel.  That is where I find my greatest blessings!

Meddling

Day two hundred ninety-four

This morning I pray that I will gracefully be all that I am called to be.  That I will follow the Spirit where it leads me with courage and strength.  That I will leave each person I meet feeling better than when I found them.  That all who touch my life today will feel of the Lord's love for them.  And most of all, that the Lord will be pleased with me today.

2 Kings 14
In this chapter we find king Amaziah feeling pretty good about his conquest over the Edomites.  He is feeling so confident that he sends a messenger to Jehoash, the king of Israel, saying I want to fight you too! 

 Jehoash responds with a parable basically telling Amaziah that he is acting to big for his britches and gives him some advice: Stay home and enjoy your victory.  Why would you meddle in something if it would be detrimental to you and your people?

 Jehoash has a good understanding of what meddling can do, not only does it hurt you, but those around you.  It is a good warning.  Of course Amaziah doesn't heed the warning and jumps right in. 

 I see a bit of our society in this story.  Everyone meddling in each others business and nothing positive coming from it.  So I thought it would be a topic worth investigating.

 Here are some lessons I learned about meddling:

 Gossip
A woman repeated a bit of gossip about a neighbor. Within a few days the whole community knew the story.  The person it concerned was deeply hurt and offended.  Later the woman responsible for spreading the rumor learned that it was completely untrue.  She was very sorry and went to a wise old sage to find out what she could do to repair the damage.  "Go to the market place," he said, "and purchase a chicken, and have it killed.  Then on your way home, pluck the feathers and drop them one by one along the road."  Although surprised by this advice, the woman did what she was told.

The next day the wise man said, "Now go and collect all those feathers you dropped yesterday and bring them back to me."  The woman followed the same road, but to her dismay, the wind had blown the feathers all away.  After searching for hours, she returned with only three in her hand.  "You see," said the old sage, "it's easy to drop them, but it is impossible to get them back.  So it is with gossip.  It doesn't take much to spread a rumor, but once you do, you can never completely undo the wrong." (Author Unknown, Submitted by Helen Hazinski from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul)

Gossip happens around us everyday. There are newspapers, magazines, websites, and even talk shows that do nothing but propagate gossip.  It has damaged reputations, caused relationship problems, and has even caused some to end their lives.  Gossip is extremely hurtful.

President David O. McKay said, “Let us avoid evil speaking; let us avoid slander and gossip. These are poisons to the soul to those who indulge. Evil speaking injures the reviler more than the reviled.”  (Conference Report, Apr. 1969, 96.)

No one wins in the game of gossip.

Peacemaker
Sometimes we get involved in battles that aren’t ours. We jump into problems between people, thinking we’re going to try and fix the situation, but in reality we only make things worse.
 

I think we have all thought of ourselves as a “peacemaker”. The problem is we don't always do it correctly. Often times we’ll listen to only one side of things and without realizing it we make a decision as to who is the “good guy” and who is the “bad guy”.  Then we’ll listen to the other side, and truly get confused.

To be a true peacemaker, you can’t take sides.  To be a true peacemaker, you need to get both individuals together and talk, hold their hands, and pray with them.

Our intentions might be good, but we must be careful about taking sides and taking on battles that aren’t ours.  The scriptures tell us:

"He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears."  (Proverbs 26:17) 

If you've every tried to grab a dog by the ears you know you are just getting yourself in some trouble that you don't really want!

Control
As you know, I use many different sources when I research for my blog, but I think this article titled Family Life: Are You a Buttinsky? from a Jewish magazine is one of my all time favorites.  It is written by a Dr. Dale Atkins and Rabbi Edythe Mencher.  On the cover of the magazine under the title of the article it says: How to Avoid Being Awarded the Family Meddle of Honor.  I love it!

Besides having a cute title the article was informative.  It is written in a Q&A format with the first question being, How would you define meddling? 

"If you give advice to an adult family member without being asked for your opinion, then you are meddling." (Dale)

"I would define meddling as giving advice that is likely to be perceived as criticism rather than support and encouragement." (Edie)

Interesting definitions.  I have been guilty of doing both of these things, I think I might be a buttinsky!

The article goes on to share some Jewish wisdom about things like trying to tell others how to live their lives and expressng opinions about who someone marries.  It also gives us a way to evaluate ourselves to see if we are meddling:

"First, check yourself to make sure you aren’t inadvertently meddling by asking yourself four questions:
1. Am I getting involved for my child or for myself?
2. Is the person in question happy, even though what he/she is doing would not make me happy?
3. Will getting involved put our relationship at risk (and am I willing to take that risk)?
4. Can I really have this conversation without being judgmental?"  (Dale)

My favorite piece of advice from the article:

"Telling people how to live their lives or holding them up to unrealistic standards of achievement—the hidden message behind much “constructive criticism”—are surefire ways to stir up discord. If we ask people to make choices that are more comfortable for us than for them, we may inadvertently hinder them from becoming the people they have the potential to become. This teaching is captured in the words of the talmudic sage Rabbi Zusya: “In the world to come they will not ask me, ‘Why were you not Moses?’ They will ask me, ‘Why were you not Zusya?’” (Dale)

You gotta love Rabbi wisdom!  If you think you might be a buttinsky this article is a really good source of information.

Warnings
"It was a wise man who observed with regard to improvement that so often everyone meddles in everyone else’s matters instead of improving himself—and thus everything stays the same." ~Pres. Spencer W, Kimball.

"And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you." (1 Thes 4:11)

"And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?  Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye." (Matt 7:3-5)

"Judge not, that ye be not judged.  For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."  (Matt 7:1-2)

"For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:" (1 Pet 3:10)

"If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain."  (James 1:26)

"But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another." (Gal 5:15)

These are just a few of the warnings we have been given, there are more.  Meddling is a serious problem that has been going on since the Old Testament times.  Amaziah learns the hard way that meddling is destructive.  The people become angry with him for his choices and they conspire against him and kill him! (2 Kings 14:19)  Meddling always comes with a price!

My hope is that we will learn from this story and make the changes in our own lives we need to help us control our desire to meddle.  May we be less destructive and more like the words found in Ephesians 4:29:  "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers".  Let's use our energy to build each other up, instead of tear each other down! 

Windows of Opportunity

Day two hundred ninety-three

“My prayer is that something in me would be “open to heaven,” for the truth is that we all have as much of God as we truly want.” ~ A.W. Tozer

2 Kings 13
I was all ready to move on when I came across the above quote and it took me back to chapter 13.  Maybe I am just having a hard time saying goodbye to Elisha, but there is another lesson that he teaches us before he dies that I want to share.

In the last post we left off with Joash weeping over the thought of Elisha dying. Well Elisha does an interesting thing here: He says to the king, "Take a bow and arrows and draw it back."  Elisha gets behind the king, puts his hands on his and tells him to open the window and shoot the arrow eastward towards Syria. 

Elisha interprets the meaning of this little exercise in verse 17: "The arrow of the Lord's deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them."

In essence what Elisha is saying to the king is, "This is the Lord's deliverance, I am not the chariot of Israel, God is the chariot of Israel.  The same open window in front of me is in front of you.  I am dying, but God is not dying.  Joash you need to understand that if you turn to the Lord, trust in the Lord, deliverance is yours.  The God who has worked so powerfully through my life is the same God who wants to work in your life!" 

The same thing is true for us today.  God has not changed. He has as much enthusiasm to touch people and work in their lives as He ever has. We too have windows of opportunity!  The same window of opportunity to see the power of God that was opened before these two men is opened before us today!

So Elisha says to Joash, "Shoot the arrow through the window and believe the promise of God, believe the promise of victory and of deliverance.  For you must strike the Syrians until you have destroyed them."

Then Elisha does something else that is unusual.  In verse 18 he tells Joash to take the remaining arrows and to smote or strike the ground with them.  Joash does it three times then stops.  And Elisha gets angry and tells him that he should have struck the ground 5 or 6 times, then he could have totally defeated the Syrians.  Why would Elisha get so angry?

Striking the ground was a sign of Joash's commitment to how he was going to appropriate the promise of God for victory.  The open window was symbolic of the opportunity, the striking the ground was symbolic of Joash's commitment, Joash should have realized that.  The problem is Joash is half-hearted in his commitment and in his response.

Elisha is angry at the king because of his half-hearted commitment.  It was true that the nation didn't have the resources to conquer the enemy, but they had God on their side.  He was willing to meet them in their weakness and insufficiency, but he wanted their whole hearts.

This is one of those self-evaluation moments where you look back on your life and you see yourself making the same mistake as Joash.  How many opportunities has God given me that I let pass me by because I was only into it half-heartedly?  Too many to count I am sure!  Why do we let these windows of opportunity pass us by?

For me, I tend to forget that these opportunities exist.  Mostly, I am not paying attention to what is going on around me and I don't recognize the opportunity when it is there.  I miss them because I am not looking for them through spiritual eyes.  I am working on that.

Then there is the fact that I don't always have the faith I need to take the risk.  Not just faith in God, but in myself.  I often focus on my weaknesses and let fear of failure guide me instead of believing that God will make up for anything I lack.  I just need to take the chance and have faith in Him.   I am working on this too!

Imagine the impact on your life if you would recognize, acknowledge, and take action in these opportunities.  How much closer to God would we be?  How much spiritual strength would we get from believing and doing?

I think the Lord often feels like Elisha did when he deals with us.  He is giving us all these opportunities and we just don't get it!  God wants to bless us, he wants to work through us, but he wants us to do it whole-heartedly.  He is the same, it is us that needs to change.  Like the quote at the beginning of this post said, "we all have as much of God as we truly want."  I need to want God more!

Who Will Miss Us?

Day two hundred ninety-two

My prayer this morning was again focused on the needs of others.  There are highs and lows in every life and I am thankful that the Lord puts me in the right place at the right time so that I can be a part of those lives.  May those in need know that I love them, that the Lord loves them, and that He hears our pleas.

2 Kings 13

Today we come to the final study of the life of Elisha.  It is in this chapter that Elisha goes home to be with the Lord.  At this point Elisha has ministered in Israel now for 60yrs – starting from that time that he was Elijah's protégé. His ministry has been marked by the miraculous.  Through Elisha the Lord performed more miracles than anyone in the Old Testament.  In fact, aside from Jesus, the Lord performed more miracles through Elisha than anyone else in the Bible. 

The other thing that has marked Elisha's ministry has been his interaction with the different kings.  That is how it will end as well. In verse 14 we find Elisha sick to the point of death and King Joash distraught, weeping over the thought of losing Elisha. Joash says "Oh my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof." 

If that phrase sounds familiar you are correct.  It is the same phrase that Elisha used when Elijah was taken up in the whirlwind.  Joash is using this phrase because he understands that if Elisha dies, the nation is in real trouble.  The chariot was the strongest weapon of the day and what Joash is saying is, "Elisha, you are our chariot!" 

The army of Israel had been depleted down to fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen (v 7).  In the past Elisha had told Israel what the movements of the enemy were going to be (revealed to him by God), a whole army was prevented by God from capturing him,  another time a whole army was blinded and he led them by the hand to the King, and yet another time the Syrian army was scared off during his ministry and the the city of Samaria was saved from starvation because of it.

Joash looks at Elisha and sees that this man of God has been the only constant good thing for the nation.  Now that Elisha is about to die Joash weeps and you get the feeling that in his head he is thinking, "WE ARE DOOMED!"  Joash has finally learned to appreciate Elisha and to see how important he is to Israel, it's too bad that it took Elisha's impending death to bring it out in him.

There are many lessons we can learn from Elisha's life, but one that really stood out to me was: “May we seek to live in such a way that even ungodly men would miss us when we are gone.” ~Spurgeon

What an awesome thought.  What is it that we can do in our own lives that would emulate the life of Elisha and help us touch the hearts of ungodly men?  Here are three areas that I am working on:

Love the Lord

There is no doubt in the minds of those that have witnessed Elisha's life that he loved the Lord. 

Jesus taught:

"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment." (Mark 12:30)

Elisha was a great example of a person who loved the Lord this way.  I found this breakdown in the margins of my scriptures:  heart = commitment; soul = emotions; mind = intellect; strength = talents.  If we were to live our lives this way, dedicating all these things to the Lord, no man could doubt how we feel about the Lord. 

Love Others

Jesus continues his thoughts with,

"...Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:31)

With all that Elisha has done for the people of Israel there is no doubt that he loved them.  He has put himself in harms way for them, he has warned them, and he has blessed them.  We can do the same.  It means stepping out of our comfort zone and taking some risks.  It means being willing to seek the Spirit and following through with the promptings, no matter how strange they might be.  It means not worrying about what other people think and loving those that need it the most.  It means putting others first sometimes.

Perform Everyday Miracles

"There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle." ~Albert Einstein

I think the more you learn to love the Lord and love others you naturally lean towards the,”everything is a miracle” side.  But recognizing and performing are two different things. We are just average, everyday Joe's or Jane's, not prophets of God, what miracles could we possibly perform?  

How about being the person that will pray for others?  or is willing to serve others? or freely forgives others?  Do you see these things as miracles? 

In each of these scenarios you are performing a miracle for someone else.  Your willingness to pray in faith on behalf of someone else is a miracle that they may never even know about, but still reap the blessings.  Your willingness to serve others may mean that you are the miracle that was the answer to their prayers.  And freely forgiving others is part of the miracle of healing a soul.  

We may not stop an army or raise someone from the dead, but we do make a difference in the lives of those around us.  Our actions, whether good or bad, leave a mark on the lives that we touch, even those who are struggling with their relationship with God.  What a difference these miracles could have on the lives of those that we come in contact with!

Elisha was a great example to all who were around him. In fact, he is still being an example to us today, long after he left this earth.  When we ask ourselves, “Who will miss us?” we need to remember Elisha and hope that we will live our lives in such a way that we may always be the good in others lives.

Spiritual Repairs

Day two hundred ninety-one

This morning I prayed that my family would have a good Sabbath.  It has been a rough week and we all need to be spiritually refilled.  I asked that the Spirit would be in our home and that we would feel its comfort and peace. May we all feel the Lord's love for us and reflect it on one another. 

2 Kings 12 The Renovation of the Temple

The sacred structure had suffered terribly under Athaliah (2 Chron 24:7). King Joash had been hidden there during her reign so it makes sense that he might take an interest in the building where he had spent his earliest years. Step one was to raise the funds for the repairs. The first attempt at raising funds was a failure. It was in the wrong hands; the priests didn't follow through. But when the opportunity was given to the people to give their freewill offerings, the sum soon grew to a large amount, which enabled the workmen to proceed.

This reminded me of the scripture:  “Stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly,” (D&C 87:8). What are these holy places? Among others, they are our homes.  Our homes are sacred structures like the temple.  With that in mind the next obvious question is, Is my home in need of repairs?

If your home is anything like mine that answer is a great big Yes.  There is a never ending list of repairs and maintenance that comes with owning a home.  Most of us are pretty good at keeping up with the repairs to the structure of our homes because it maintains its value, but how are we doing on the inside of the house.  Not structurally, but spiritually.  How are we doing at maintaining the Spirit in our homes? 

In D&C 93:43 the Lord tells Fredrick G Williams, "...set in order your house, for there are many things that are not right in your house."   Could the Lord say that to you? 

First we need to know the expectations of a 'holy place' home.  I think D&C 88:119 gives us a great place to start:

"... and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning, a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;"

Prayer
Prayer is important, it's how we keep in contact with God, not only as individuals, but as a family.  Jesus had a few words about family prayer for the Nephites, "Pray in your families unto the Father, always in my name, that your wives and your children may be blessed." (3 Nephi 18:21). I know my family could sure use these blessings!

Fasting 
"To voluntarily refrain from eating or drinking for the purpose of drawing closer to the Lord and requesting his blessings. When individuals and groups (families) fast, they should also pray to understand God’s will and to develop greater spiritual strength." (Guide to the Scriptures) 

Again with the blessings!  Blessings like improving our relationship with God, feeling better about asking for things, understanding what God wants for us as a family, and increased spiritual strength. Could your family use these blessings?

Faith
There are way too many scripture references to list them all, but here are three of my favorites:
Working miracles (2 Ne 26:13)
Christ dwelling in our hearts (Eph 3:17)
Inheriting promises (Heb 6:12)

Learning 
What are we supposed to learn in our homes? 

How about good books, languages, tongues, and people (D&C 90:15); about God (D&C 19:23): or the doctrine of the kingdom (D&C 88:77).  We are commanded to teach each other, but you can't teach what you don't know.  The Lord tells us:

"Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in theory, in principle, in doctrine, in the law of the gospel, in all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand;

Of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—" (D&C 88:78-79)

Glory

Who are we to show glory to in our homes?

"Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.  Let the high praises of God be in their mouth..." (Ps 149:5-6)

Glory to God through praise for what:

"Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness." (Ps 150:2)

I like the term 'excellent greatness', you don't get more excellent than God!

Order
We are told in the scriptures: "Let all things be done decently and in order."  Building a holy environment in your home is included in the "all things" category.  Order is so important to the Lord that there are over 350 entries in the scriptures with the word order in it. Like most parents, He repeats Himself to let us know that He means it!

Of God
Ezra Taft Benson said, "“Home is love, understanding, trust, welcome, and a sense of belonging.” (Ensign, Nov. 1981, p. 107.) We should make our homes havens of love where we and other family members can grow and learn to love, serve, understand, and forgive each other. Can you see how all these things would lead to a house of God? 

A house of God is always needing repair.  Such is the way of life.  My home is no exception.  We are always in need of spiritual repairs to fight the things that come from the world.  Fighting depression, sin, doubt, and fear require constant, strenuous effort. Sometimes the repairs are very large in nature and other times they are on a smaller scale.  Either way, they have to be dealt with in order to keep the Spirit in our home.

In this chapter of 2 Kings the repairs to the temple were small compared to the initial building of the temple, but the workers put their hearts into the repairs, and really, that is what God was interested in.  The same is true for the spiritual repairs we need to make in our homes.  God is interested in the efforts we are putting towards the repairs and he will bless us for it with a ‘holy place’ home for us to stand in.