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Today: Psalms 79; Acts 21:27-40; 2 Kings 4:38-44; 2 Kings 5; 2 Kings 6:1-23
Psalms 79
“Do not hold against us the sins of past generations; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need.” Psalms 79:8
We find ourselves in such a position today, “in desperate need” of God’s grace and mercy. God’s inheritance (His church) has been invaded and His holy temple defiled. The church today is filled with the spiritually dead. The name of Jesus Christ is scorned and derided by our neighbors. They hurl their contempt at Him.
Even within the church, we no longer understand our need for a Savior. We cannot really repent unless we first understand that we need to. But we have built up too many levels of our Tower of Babel. We have become blinded by our illusion of power. We no longer recognize the supremacy of God.
“How long, LORD?” How long?
Acts 21-22
Paul had finally arrived in Jerusalem. All the prophetic warnings quickly came true. He was seized by the Jews and then taken into custody by the Roman commander. The Roman soldiers actually had to carry Paul to protect him from the violent mob.
Paul, the man who had once hunted, persecuted and imprisoned Christians, the man who held the coats of the Jews who martyred Stephen, was now himself on trial as a follower of the Way. And God arranged the situation so that Paul might tell his testimony to the crowds.
God’s plan had come full circle. What a marvelous, intricate, surprising web of holy fire God works for us!
“And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on His name.” Acts 22:16
2 Kings 4-6
I feel like Elisha hasn’t ever really been given the recognition he deserves. Everyone has heard of Elijah. But ELISHA received the double portion of Elijah’s anointing and performed twice as many amazing miracles. If Elijah is the precursor of John the Baptist, wouldn’t that make Elisha the precursor of Jesus? Elisha’s miracles mirror Jesus’ own. He fed a hundred men with twenty loaves of barley bread. He healed a man from leprosy. He even brought a boy back to life from the dead. I feel that we are missing something really important here. Elisha deserves a closer look. God worked mightily through him.
