Can it pass the test?

Have you ever been told something, only to find out it wasn't true at all? I think we have all bought one of those 'miracle', 'wonder', 'amazing', or 'as seen on...' products at some time in our lives. I remember mom getting all this stuff from one of the 'clearing houses' that really wasn't all that good, but if she bought it, she felt it increased her chances of becoming a millionaire. We all 'buy into' an outright untruth at one time or another, don't we? The bigger the lie, the harder it is to 'sell', but so many seem to 'buy into' various lies of the enemy of their souls without giving it a second thought. The biggest lie we can buy into is that God has turned his back on a lost and hurting world. God never turns his back, always has a way of escape for those who will look toward him and will always be the ultimate authority no matter what other authority attempts to set themselves up above him.

For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does. He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth. (Psalm 33:4-5)

God's word holds true - we cannot escape the truth within his word. We cannot add to it, take away from it, or 'make it say what we want it to say'. It is unalterable! God will always stand for what is just and good. He will never compromise that truth. It is good for us to remember that God doesn't have to 'sell' his 'agenda' to anyone. He reveals his grace, love, and peace - then we are free to embrace it or leave it alone. God hasn't turned his back on his people, even when it appears that all is amiss in our world at the moment, we cannot ever believe the lie that God has abandoned us. His power still reigns supreme. His purposes are still to bring hurting people into his presence, embracing them in his love, and regenerating their hearts and minds so they can enjoy the peace and freedom of grace.

Test all you hear. Some may have turned their backs on 'fact checking' the things they see and hear today, but we need to be 'fact checkers' in all we hear, see, are asked to embrace. We cannot blatantly just adopt a stance that if 'he or she said it', it must be true. We need to take what we hear and see to the Word of God and see what God says about it. Remember this - all lies are wrapped in some element of truth. Even the 'wonder', 'amazing', 'miracle', and 'as seen on...' stuff we 'buy into' has some element of truth to it. It just doesn't live up to all the hype! Just sayin!

me, Me, ME

Help, Lord! For God-like men are here no more. The faithful can no longer be seen among the sons of men. They lie to each other. Their lips speak with sweet-sounding words that are not true. May the Lord cut off all lips of false respect, and the tongue that speaks of great things. They say, “We can win with our tongues. Our lips are our own. Who is lord over us?”

(Psalm 2:1-4)

When I read this passage this morning, it gave me a moment of pause as it seemed so appropriate for the present 'election season' we are in. It seems like there is lots of 'lip speaking' and 'sweet-sounding words', but how much of what is said will actually prove to be true? There is either 'truth', 'lies', or 'something in between' in these election speeches, right? Never forget that lies are often masked with just enough truth to make them believable! It is time to test character - what has the person shown as his or her values - not in word, but in deed? What actions reveal the true character of the one standing at that podium, beckoning us to vote for them right now? It seems to me they spend a lot of time criticizing each other so that the spot light cannot get too close to their own 'back yard', if you know what I mean. God isn't fooled by their words, though, so we have to rely upon him to help us sort out the truth from the lies in the 'me, Me, ME' campaigning that goes on.

God-like men are here no more. Does that sound at all like how you may be feeling this election year? To be transparent here, I don't know if there is a really 'good candidate' for the presidency! It seems like our highest office of the land has become a position sought after by those who throw mud, work to intimidate people, talk circles around themselves, and make very little sense at times. So many will side with one or the other candidate, but where is this all heading? As I was driving home this week from running errands with a friend, I was turned away from my regular route. We waited for an extremely long time to be detoured into her place of residence. Why? For the third week in a row there were protesters gathering at the main corner next to our local civic plaza. They were protesting and probably doing a little 'campaigning' at the same time. Large signs proclaimed who we should vote for as these protesters littered the sidewalks, crossed the streets, and displayed their banners.

Why is it we find the only means to 'change our world' right now is that of needing to 'protest'? Perhaps it is because we haven't been able to make out the truth from the lie at times when all we hear is "me, Me, ME". Maybe it is that we don't see evidence of words matching up to policy at other times. Could it be that we believe change is necessary, but we don't really know which 'me' is going to bring about that much needed change? I think it could be all of the above. I just don't like that the 'means' by which we 'cry out' is through protest. I think God may have a different 'means' in mind for us - prayer, fasting, and seeking him once again. 2 Chronicles 7:14 reminds us - "If my people, who are called by my name put away their pride and pray, and look for my face, and turn from their sinful ways, then I will hear from heaven...I will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." Pride isn't going to get us there - prayer will. Show up, but do it in the right spirit - with God at the center of your thoughts, in control of your heart, and overseeing the sweetness of your spirit. Just sayin!

White-wash or a Sharp Sword?

^4-5 He turned to Jehoshaphat and said, "Will you join me in fighting for Ramoth Gilead?"  Jehoshaphat said, "You bet. I'm with you all the way—my troops are your troops, my horses are your horses." He then continued, "But before you do anything, ask God for guidance."  ⁶ The king of Israel got the prophets together—all four hundred of them —and put the question to them: "Should I attack Ramoth Gilead? Or should I hold back?"  "Go for it," they said. "God will hand it over to the king."

(I Kings 22:4-6)

This is just a short passage from the twenty-second chapter of I Kings.  It is just enough to set up the story before us this morning.  In encourage you to read the chapter in its entirety.  King Ahab is in control of Israel and Jehoshaphat is reigning over Judah.  Jehoshaphat was allied with Ahab through marriage (arranging for his son to marry Ahab's daughter) and was the fourth king of Judah (the southern kingdom once part of Israel).  Judah had not aligned themselves with the forms of worship entertained in the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  Ahab was not the best king to rule over Israel.  He married Jezebel, who in turn became a bad influence over him, resulting in Israel turning to Baal worship.  I Kings 16:30 tells us that he was more evil than any of the other kings before him.  

Three years of peace had been enjoyed in the land without any warfare or battle being pursued.  The kings have been sitting around reminiscing about the times of battle, their present situation, and their desire to drive out the people that are inhabiting the territory of Ramoth Gilead, a town once taken by the king of Aram in an earlier battle.  Ahab cooks up the notion that they need to take this city for themselves.  In turn, he calls the one ally he has, Jehoshaphat, and asks him to go along with him in his plans.  The first thing Jehoshaphat does is ask Ahab to call together the prophets (more than 400 at the time) to get God's guidance for the battle.  One prophet is left out of the "predicting" event - Micaiah.  

All the prophets in the crowd give the kings exactly what they want to hear - "Go for it!"  Micaiah is consulted as an after-thought - only because Jehoshaphat asks if there are any other prophets in the region that he and Ahab might consult.  What we know about Micaiah is very little other than he was a holy prophet not given over to the false worship of Baal.  He spoke out for what he believed he heard from God and did not go along with the crowds.  This probably did not make him very popular among his "prophet" friends.

Ahab likely excluded Micaiah from the "fortune-telling" that day because Micaiah did not have any problem telling exactly what he heard from God.  His message cut across the plans Ahab had and often were convicting in their nature.  Therefore, he would rather exclude him from the "fortune-telling" than to entertain the possibilities he'd have a message of doom.  What is most telling about how he was treated was the response of one of his fellow prophets, Zedekiah.  When Micaiah told Ahab NOT to go out to battle against the people of Ramoth Gilead because he would not return in one piece, would be cowering in fear to find a place to hide, and that his 400 prophets were really sending him to his doom - he did not make any friends or influence any enemies!

In fact, Zedekiah comes forward and punches Micaiah in the face, asking him, "Since when did the Spirit of God leave me and take up residence with you?"  Wow, what a telling statement that the prophet of God would not even recognize how far he had drifted from a deep and personal relationship with God!  He did not even recognize that the Spirit of God was not upon him any longer!  

Several things I'd like us to consider about the life and ministry of Micaiah:

• When light shines bright, there are those in darkness that will hate the effect of that light.  Light brings exposure and what is exposed may not always be what you want others to see.
• When truth is spoken, lies become apparent.  There is a lot of ease in hearing lies - they rarely require anything much of us.  Truth, on the other hand, exposes something that requires a response.  Because they have a little "bite" to them, they can often bring people to a place of awareness of their need - that is not always the most comfortable place for them to be!

Micaiah ended up in prison for speaking truth - for being a light in a time of tremendous darkness.  The little we know of him is apparent in his commitment to be true to his God despite the pressures to be otherwise.  It is my hope that we will rise to the level of being true to our God when we are surrounded on all sides by pressures to be otherwise.  The day in which we live demands a light to shine bright, pointing the way to the truth of Christ.  The people we are surrounded by need the truth to be "forth-told" - even if it is not the popular message.  

The Word of God is a sharp instrument - we are reminded of that when Paul tells us that it like a two-edged sword.  When we white-wash the Word of God, we are trying to take away the "sharpness" of the Word.  It is that very "sharpness" that gives the Word of God the most powerful effect in the lives of men and women that hear it.  We need to be faithful to the Word!  It may not be the most popular message - but it is the best!