Perfectly Imperfect Together

In Genesis 8 & 9, the floodwaters recede and God defines the terms of His covenant with Noah. A covenant is the terms with which God forms relationship with His people. God's covenants continue to build on each other through the Bible. Today, we have a covenant with God through our Faith in Jesus. It's a mutual commitment of love, a promise God forged for us through the Blood of His Son, Jesus...

In Genesis 6 & 7, we find our first Bible hero. In a world full of wicked corruption, Noah remains righteous by walking in close fellowship with God. Noah was able to stay righteous because he had an intimate relationship with God who was his mentor and friend. God is grieved by the level of sin He sees among humanity and the judgment that is going to have to come forth as a result of their ch...

In Genesis 4, Adam and Eve experience the full effect of knowing evil - which is death - when their son Cain kills their other son Abel.  God gives Cain a 2nd chance but Cain does not heed God and ends up a cursed wanderer. Sin demonstrates a lack of faith in God and a small view of God. Cain is forced to face the consequences of his choice to sin. Evil multiplies through Cain's descendants a...

In Genesis chapter 3, sin enters the world by a very bad choice by both Adam and Eve to disobey God and eat the fruit He specifically said not to eat. The enemy comes in using the same tactics he uses today - he creates doubt. The heart of temptation is selfishness and pride. Satan uses the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and pride repeatedly to try to get us to disobey God and His Word....

In Genesis 1 & 2, God creates the universe and all things within it. He creates a whole world out of nothingness. Only God has the power to take on nothingness. He created us with purpose and intention to rule His world under His authority alongside Him. God didn't want  us to worship Him simply because we are ordered to do so. He wants us to worship and have a relationship with Him becau...

In 2 Kings Chapter 25, Babylon rises up and takes over Jerusalem as they are forced into exile. What caused the downfall of Israel? Politically, the other countries were on a mission to rule the world. Theologically, Israel persisted in covenant disobedience and God used the other countries to bring forth the promises of the covenant that were warned of time and time again. Their disobedience led...

In 2 Kings Chapters 23 & 24, King Josiah cleans up the messes the other kings left behind and shows true and full repentance. Repentance is turning around and going completely the other way. Josiah declared a complete war on idolatry and wins. He destroys all the remnants of any and all idols and false god worship. He turned the kingdom back over to God with all his heart, soul and strength. T...

In 2 Kings Chapters 21 & 22, we are now left with the southern tribes which include Judah and Benjamin and some Levites that work in the Temples.  The 10 tribes to the north have been wiped out by Assyria. Manasseh takes over rule of Judah and ends up getting the prize for the most evil king yet. Eventually Josiah takes over and we once again have a good king in our midst. They found the...

In 2 Kings 19 & 20, in response to the fear imposed by the Assyrians, King Hezekiah cries out to God. No matter where Israel is, when they cry out to God, He responds. God knows every detail and is in control of the situation. He sends an angel to take out 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. Hezekiah is humbled by God through sickness but God not only grants him another 15 years, He provides a miracle...

In 2 Kings Chapter 18, King Hezekiah rules over the southern tribe of Judah. He is a good king and follows God. Hezekiah's name means God will strengthen. He's doing well until he lets the fear of the Assyrians overtake him after they successfully took over the northern tribes. He chickens out and tries to pay off the Assyrians. Wars with the Egyptians, Philistines, and Canaanites were more about...

In 2 Kings Chapter 17, Assyria takes over Israel and scatters the people. From Genesis 1 to now, God's covenant people are suffering the full extent of the cursing at Sinai. The problem lies in their hearts. God gives patience, mercy, grace and plenty of warnings time and time again. They refuse to listen and heed God's warnings and instead choose to worship false gods and idols. As a consequence...

In 2 Kings Chapters 15, we find a summary of 7 different kings - 2 rule in Judah and 5 in Israel. As you read, you see a continual spiral downward and their worst enemies were within their very own kingdoms. In Chapter 16, Ahaz rules in Judah and behaves pretty much like a pagan northern king. If these kings were to shoot at the right target, they'd aim straight for God. Instead, they continually...

In 2 Kings Chapters 13 & 14, God repeatedly gives Israel an opportunity to repent but Israel continually refuses. God is fulfilling the curses of the covenant and shrinking Israel since they refuse to turn to God. God performs one more miracle through Elisha, even though Elisha was dead, by bringing a dead man to life simply by having the dead man touch Elisha's bones. The prophet of God may b...

In 2 Kings Chapters 11 & 12, King Ahaziah's mother decides she wants to rule over Judah after her son's death and starts killing off the rest of the royal family to secure her place on the throne. Ahaziah's sister steals away his infant son, Joash, and hides him in safety so he doesn't end up murdered. After 7 years, the priest fashions a coronation secretly and the crazy mom who stole the thr...

In 2 Kings Chapter 10, Jehu "cleans house" according to God's direction but also takes on a wee bit of his own agenda in the process. He is able to destroy every trace of Baal worship but doesn't remove the golden calves. He did some good stuff, but didn't obey God with all his heart. God is after our hearts, not our actions. 

In 2 Kings Chapter 9, Elisha sends a member of the group of prophets on a secret-ty type mission to anoint Jehu as king. He even tells him to "run for your life" once the mission is completed. Jehu starts out by following God's heart, but will he make it to the end remaining obedient to God? 

In 2 Kings Chapter 8, the woman whose son was brought back to life leaves for 7 years to avoid the famine and her home and land are all restored to her when she returns. God provides.  The king of Aram is sick and dies, but not because of the sickness. Elisha is brought to tears when he is shown what will be coming for the people of Israel. Our actions, how we think and act, affect us as well...

In 2 Kings Chapters 6 & 7, Elisha helps a fallen ax head float to the top of the river. Elisha bamboozles the Aramean army, with God's help the whole way through of course. Famine strikes Samaria and even though the king of Israel was blaming God and wanted to kill Elisha, God had mercy on them and brought forth food. God is both just and merciful and the only thing we'll get to take to Heaven...

In 2 Kings Chapter 5, King Aram had this commander he super duper liked because he helped gain so much victory. He had leprosy so the king sent him to Israel to be healed. The king of Israel thinks it's a sham but Elisha steps in and God heals the man after some pride is knocked out of the guy. He is healed and humbled so it's really a double healing. Elisha's servant gets lies and gets greedy and...

In 2 Kings Chapter 4, we see 4 miracles that take place.  A poor widow is provided with an abundance of oil, her son is raised from the dead, poison was cleansed from stew, and 100 people are fed with what should not have been nearly enough food. All the miracles are directly related to serving people which shows the heart of God. Miracles are God's heart working in the present world. In each...

In 2 Kings Chapter 3, a war breaks out between Israel and Moab. Three armies combined, sought the Lord's advice through Elisha, and ultimately won the battle after much bloodshed. The kings throughout these books are continually compared to Jeroboam because he instituted idol worship turning people away from God. A part of this chapter I really love is that before providing the much needed advice...

In 2 Kings Chapters 1 & 2, Elijah confronts King Ahaziah about looking to false gods for answers rather than God Himself. Elijah passes the mantel to Elisha and is taken to Heaven in a whirlwind and a chariot of fire. Elijah gets a double portion of the Holy Spirit's power and starts doing miracles right away. A bunch of bullies harass him but God's got his back. 

Today's episode is a trail nugget God is working on in me. I was attacked by a feral cat because I cannot say "no" properly. God doesn't want us attacked by feral cats and we need to know when to use our "no's". Pray, seek God's Word and will in all things. It's okay and even vital to say "no" when appropriate; it will lead to other "yes's" that God intends you to have in life. 

In 1 Kings Chapter 22, Jehoshaphat and Ahab enter war together. Jehoshaphat is a good, God-fearing king but Ahab is not. God sends a prophet who honestly tells them what is about to happen in war but they do not heed the warning and instead listen to the other prophets who were filled with a lying spirit. God's truth reigns and exactly what was proclaimed by God happens. 

In 1 Kings Chapters 20 & 21, there's some battling going on. God goes ahead into the battles and brings victory for His chosen people.  Israel's King does not follow God's direction, goes down a path of dishonesty, murder, and burglary and ends up bringing death and destruction into his dynasty.