Isaiah 9 – 12, 2 Chronicles 27 (13th July) - Benjamin

Here we see who scary it is when the Lord’s anger is upon Israel. Although much punishment has been put on the people, the Lord’s anger is not turned away. When Israel turned away from the Lord, such is the result. We must always remind each other in the family of Christ to walk righteously before the Lord so that we do not bring down the entire family.

Are you prideful about your achievements in your life? Did you suppose that all that you have achieved is through your own strength? No!! It is because God wants to bless you with them. Thus, we have to be thankful everyday of our life, good or bad, for what He has made it to be. If there are people around you that are filled with pride, give them a nudge to remind them about who made them to be as such. Otherwise, it will be just at Isa 10-19 says, what you have achieved will be reduced to almost nothing.

In Isa 11, we see that every living thing on the earth is able to live together harmoniously. Even the wolf can live with the lamb, the leopard with the goat etc. How blessed is Jesse, who is able to lead a life that is of the way of the Lord. Another example will be Jotham, whom did what was right in the Lord’s eyes. We should really live our life just as depicted in v 3-5. That is really Christ-likeness.

Finally we see the people lifting praises to the Lord, giving thanks to all that He has done for them. We should also do the same. Praising the Lord, thanking Him for He is good and His love endures forever!

Amos 1 - 9 (11th & 12th July) - Li Juan

Amos 1-9

The theme of Amos is the judgment on Sin. Amos was a shepherd and was burdened over the sins of the northern kingdom. He was a minor prophet who declared God’s judgment on Judah and Israel and the surrounding nations.

Amos’s way of prophesying always begins with:
1) Criticizing Israel’s enemies
2) Winning a hostile crowd
3) Upon moving nearer, speaks the sin of Judah
4) Having gained sympathy of his hearers, points out the sin of Israel itself

The phrase “For three sins of --, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath” was mentioned repeatedly in Amos. This expression indicates a measure of full iniquity and inevitable judgment.

Amos rebuked those in Israel for not listening to God. He also reminded them that since God gave them more authority, they have to be more responsible over the power they possess. He also rebuked the leaders who were oblivious to the sufferings of the poor and the unfair treatment they went through. Judgment was also declared to those who were complacent and full of pride. He warned through many visions and prophecies.

Have we been complacent? Have we been deaf to God’s voice? Have we been blinded by the world? Have we been desensitized by the earthly possessions? Have we left God out of the picture, of our life? God’s judgment upon these nations, especially Israel, was all due to sins. If you have been escaping from God, come back today to repent of your sins. Do not wait till the Day of Judgment, turn away from the wayward paths before its too late. He has not left you out of the blessings. He too spoke of Israel’s restoration and future blessings (9:11-15). More than loving Him, fear Him.

Isaiah 5 - 8 (10th July) - Benjamin

In Isaiah 5, we are reminded of what we ought to do and ought not to do. Yet again, we see the results of doing things against God’s ways. God will punish His people accordingly. Reflect upon the things you do, ask for wisdom to distinguish between good and evil. Do not even attempt to deceive yourself at any point of time that it is ok to do this and that once in a while if you know His laws. Else all we can say is ‘God bless u’.

In Isaiah 6, it is the climax of the first major section of his prophecies. In v 1-4, he sees the Lord in all his glory; in v 5-7, he then sees himself in all his uncleanness; in v 8-13, the prophet, now cleansed and forgiven, sees the rebellious people to whom God is sending him to proclaim the divine message of judgment. We see that even a great man of God like Isaiah recognizes that the things he said are sinful, what more about people like you and I? Thus, we must be watchful of the words we speak since words are powerful. You never know how your ‘innocent’ words might impact the person receiving them.

In Isaiah 7 and 8, it simply tells us that ‘if the Lord is for us, who can be against us?’. It is a promise that God has made to us and all we have to do to claim this promise is to make Him the centre of our life. Isn’t that easy? Once again, the fear of God is mentioned. It is absolutely critical that we live with this holy fear within us. Are there areas in your life that you choose not to live with this fear but with the fear of the secular, perhaps fear of how others judge you; fear of failures? Cast onto the Lord all these fears and ask Him to teach you to live day-by-day with the Holy fear of Him and you will see your life transformed into something better than before.

Isaiah 1 - 4 (9th July) - Crystal

Isaiah 1 – 4

The book of Isaiah looks into the failures of the nations. In chapter 1, it speaks about the rebellion of the nation. The nation turned away from God and sinned against God . In verse 11 "The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?" says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.” When your heart is harden that turned against God’s word and his commands, no matter what offerings you give to God, God will turn away from you. Verse 15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even if you offer many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood;” Even the most righteous nation will have a chance to fall away from God if the people did not keep His words. Be careful of the lies of the evil one and guard your heart against sin. Do not try even try going near things or places that will lead you to sin.

Isaiah had a vision from God; it shows that God is bringing peace and judgment over the nations. After which, the nations will walk in the light. Particularly in chapter 2:8 “Their land is full of idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what their fingers have made.” It does not only talk about physical idols that people worship but also different “things” that we worship. Some might worship a mentor, a love one, or even money. Take time to reflect on what has been the priority of your life today. Has God’s place been taken over?

The ending part of chapter 3 caught my attention. It says 16 The LORD says, "The women of Zion are haughty, walking along with outstretched necks, flirting with their eyes, tripping along with mincing steps, with ornaments jingling on their ankles.”Although I do not know what exactly has been describe, but definitely it is not something that pleases the Lord. Girls let’s guard speech and lifestyle. I am sure you would not want to be bald and stink but a woman that reflects God’s love.

2 Kings 15 and 2 Chronicles 26 (8th July) - Crystal

2 Kings 15

In this chapter, there are multiples of kings who reign over Israel and Judah. However, there were only two righteous kings who did right in God's eyes. As for the other kings (mainly those who reign over Israel) sinned against God and it lead to further destruction of the people in Israel. v9

As we obey and follow the leaders' commands. Do keep them in prayers too. Once the fall of the leadership, the people fall too. Right now, as you are reading, take some time to ask God for protection over the leadership over the church, pastor Lawrence, pastor Fei Fei and your own cell leader.

As you read on, the kings of Israel who reigned have a harden heart. Each of them overthrown the current king with conspiracy and eventually lead to murdering. This had a great impact to the next generation. A generation cursed. Therefore, we should always identify a curse (if there is) and break them in the name of Jesus. We will be a generation that will stand in the gap between God and man. Keep on praying till you see a revival in your family, your marketplace. The victory is yours to claim!

2 Chronicles 26

This chapter elaborates on Uzziah King of Judah. In the verse 5 He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success. This shows that as the fear of the Lord is in us and when we sought the Lord, God will bring us success. Do not be over dependent on human efforts.

However, when Uzziah became powerful and famous, pride got the better of him. verse 16 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. Not only did he had a downfall, he rage in God's temple. The act of stubbornness had led to leprosy till his death, Do not wait until every fibre of pride has been broken, when every human plan backfired then turn to God. (sounds familar?) As the chinese saying goes 驕 兵必敗. As you move on progressively with your studies or in the marketplace. remember the one who gave you success and walked with you.

PS: have you been reading the stones cry out! booklet? Don't just read but apply them into your life! =)

Jonah 1 - 4 (7th July) - Alvin & Stephanie

In Chapter 1, we see the disobedience of Jonah when God commissioned him to preach against Nineveh, but he took a boat heading towards Tarshish in the opposite direction of Nineveh instead. Jonah tried to run away from God but little did he realized that nobody could ever run away from the Almighty God.

Jonah set sail on a ship where the sailors were Gentiles. A storm arose and there was nothing the sailors could do to calm the storm. Then they heard that Jonah served the Almighty God, and prayed to Him before they threw Jonah overboard. They offered a sacrifice to the Lord, made vows to Him and the Lord saved the pagan sailors from being shipwrecked.

So, Jonah has failed to hide from God and the Lord rescued disobedient Jonah from drowning after he was thrown overboard by the sailors by the timely arrival of a huge fish. The great fish swallowed Jonah and Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17).
Interestingly, how God always have His own ways of bringing us to our senses. Just as Jonah thought that by leaving the country he was able to get away from God. But our God is inescapable (Jer 23:23-24).

In today’s context, some people may try to do a similar act as Jonah did - for e.g. by staying away from church, and avoiding the company of Christians, without full realization that there is no way we are able to hide from God.

In Chapter 2, Jonah called out to the Lord and prayed, acknowledging God’s grace upon His life. Then like the sailors, Jonah offered a sacrifice to the Lord with a song of thanks and promised to fulfill his vow. So the fish vomited Jonah onto the dry land and Jonah made his way to Nineveh.

This is very much like our Christian lives. We disobey God and go our own ways, but God’s grace is always there. He allows us to make huge detours, but He will eventually lead us back to the perfect path and plan that He has prepared for us. If you notice, the beginning of Chapter 1 and 3 is the same, so if Jonah had been obedient from the onset, there will not be a need for a chapter two actually!!

Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord this time round and went to Nineveh to deliver the message of the Lord. The people in Nineveh heard God’s word through Jonah, believed him and responded to God’s message. The king of Nineveh also heard the message and repented. “Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish” (Jonah 3:8b-9).

God saw what Nineveh did and He had compassion on them. He told Jonah He wouldn’t destroy Nineveh. The Lord saved the repentant Nineveh.

Jonah was angry that God did not bring upon Nineveh the destruction he had threatened. Jonah felt that he made the trip for nothing and he spoke his mind to God about this. We see here that Jonah has no doubt been obedient to God but in his obedience, he has no compassion for people within his heart. The Lord in return asked Jonah, “Have you any right to be angry?” (Have we obeyed God many times but carry a cold spirit within us, without having that compassion in us to serve that we ought to have or rather that God also desires for us to have while He Himself is a compassionate God? The attitude we carry with our actions is just as important as the action itself).

Jonah found a place to sit overlooking Nineveh, and watched to see what would happen. The place where he sat was uncomfortable. In a lot of discomfort, Jonah really appreciated a vine that grew and shaded over his head. But the next morning, the vine was gone and the sun was hot. Jonah became angry again and wanted to die. God pointed out to him that he cared more for the fate of the vine than for the people of Nineveh.

This 4th Chapter records Jonah’s disappointment, but more importantly God’s disappointment with Jonah. Jonah was willing to do what God wanted him to do but Jonah wanted to deny God’s right to forgive Nineveh. Jonah said he would rather die than see the Ninevites live (Jonah 4:3). He could grieve over the withering of the gourd, just because it had given him shelter but he was not at all grieved at the possible destruction of the Ninevites.

2 Kings 14, 2 Chronicles 25 (6th July) - Weiling

Most of today’s writings happen around Amaziah, son of Joash King of Judah. We see in the beginning that he “did right in the sight of the Lord” but “yet not like David” (the man after God’s heart who has now been used as the official measurement!) or in other words, “yet not with a whole heart”. We see that in 1 Kings 14: 4 that the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places.

Remove the High places. Seek complete and total obedience.
What is it about the “high places” that we keep reading about in association with whether the kings worship them or not? “High places” are places of worship. We see in 1 King 3: 2 that people still sacrifice at high places because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the Lord. However, Solomon had built that temple for God already and people were supposed to worship there instead. Thus, “high places” here have a significance of not following all the way or with a whole heart. We still worship, but at where we choose, sometimes out of convenience.

Check: Many of us do things that are right. We go for service, we may even be serving. But is it going all the way, doing your best for the Lord? Is it with zeal and joy? Are we doing the “right thing” His way or our way? Pause and let the Holy Spirit speak to you. Does He have your “whole heart”? If not, let Him tell you why.

100 talents of silver – Obedience with a price
In 2 Chron 25, we see that God told Amaziah not to go to war with the 100,000 troops he hired from Israel with 100 talents of silver because “God is not with Israel”. The challenge: Is Amaziah’s trust in the 100,000 valiant warriors or in God? Will he be willing to forsake the 100 talents of silver [a lot of money!!] and see it go to waste to obey God? Sometimes God’s instruction seems to ask us to defy reasoning and we see things seemingly “go to waste”, but do you trust that His thoughts and ways are higher than us? Do you trust your heavenly Father?

Check: Today seek complete obedience, even at a cost of apparent waste, inconvenience… ask God what is that “100 talents of silver” (or it may not cost you that much) in your life? “The Lord has much more to give you than this”. God has the power to help and bring down.

Further to Amaziah’s story, I see God’s compassion for the sufferings of His people in Jeroboam’s story. (2 Kings 14: 24-29) We have read enough to see that God would often send His prophets that He would punish them if they do not repent of their sins. Now, Jeroboam, King of Israel, is a man who did evil in the sight of God. I would have expected him to be punished, but he was an unlikely candidate that God used to save the people of Israel. All because God “had seen how bitterly everyone in Israel, whether slave or free, was suffering; there was no one to help them”. God “saved them by the hand of Jeroboam”.

Are you suffering, going through a tough time? Don’t feel alone and forgotten. Just as God had seen how the suffering of Israel, He sees your pain. God will deliver you.

2 Kings 12 - 13, 2 Chronicles 24 (5th July)

2 Kings 12
Joash was king and he reign over 40 years. He did what was right in the eyes of God (v1,2). Joash ordered the priest to take all the collected money to repair the temple. It was not done so until Joash questioned the priest again on the 23rd year of his reigned. All the money was paid to the workmen and materials for the repair of the temple of the Lord.

2 Kings 13
On the 23rd year of King Joash reigned in Judah, Jehoahaz became king of Israel. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord (v1,2). He later sought God’s favor and God delivered them, but still sin (v4-6). After 17 years of Jehoahaz reigns, Jehoash succeeded him as king over Israel. He also did what is evil in the eyes of God (v11).

When Elisha was old and suffering from illness, King Jehoash visited him. Elisha asked Jehoash to shoot the arrow out of the window and Elisha proclaimed “The Lord’s Arrow of Victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!” Then Elisha asked Jehoash to strike the arrows on the ground and Jehoash only struck 3 times and Elisha was angry with him because he should strike more times to see Aram completely be destroyed. So Jehoash only defeated Aram 3 times but not completely destroyed.

One great miracle happened in verse 21, when they threw a dead body into Elisha’s tomb and when the body touched Elisha’s bone, the man came to life. The power and anointing of God on Elisha was so powerful even up to his death.

God was gracious to the Israelites and had compassion and show concern for them because of the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (v23).

2 Chronicles 24
It is the same in 2 Kings 12 and 13, except in this chapter, verse 17 onwards, it shared about the wickedness of Judah and they forsaken the Lord.

2 Kings 9 - 11 (4th July)

2 Kings 9
Elisha summoned a prophet to anoint Jehu as king over Israel and it was so. As he became king, he was to destroy the house of Ahad and Jezebel. v14-29, Jehu killed Joram and Ahaziah. Joram was shot by an arrow that pierced through his heart. v30-37, Jezebel was killed by being pushed down from the window.

2 Kings 10
Jehu went around to kill the families and relatives that related to Ahad. Jehu also gathered all the people who worship Baal including the ministers and priests that worship Baal to gather at Baal’s temple. Jehu deceived them in order to destroy everyone that worshipped Baal and he managed to destroy them all and the temple of Baal. Jehu reigned over Israel for 28 years.

2 Kings 11
Joash was stolen to hide away from Athaliah. So Joash was saved from being killed like the rest of the princes. Later part, Jehoiada, the priest, sent command to protect the king even on Sabbath day. When Athalih was killed, there was rejoicing and peace in the city v20. Joash became king when he was 7 years old.

2 Kings 5 - 8 (3rd July) - Sylvia

2 Kings 5
Naaman wants to be cured of his leprosy and looks for Elisha. Initially, he expected some kind of big hoo-ha, waving of hands etc and he would be cured instantly thus he was angry when Elisha told him to wash himself seven times in the Jordan river. His arrogance almost cost him. Thank God for His grace and mercy, that his servant pleaded with him to at least give it a try.

Lesson learnt: 100% Man, 100% God. It takes effort on our part and our belief that we will be healed. We can't expect God to do everything when we do nothing.

Gehazi, Elisha's servant gets greedy and tries to cheat Naaman of the reward that he has tried to give Elisha. Thus, he gets cursed with Naaman's leprosy.

Let's not be greedy. We bless others and serve not for rewards but to show others what God's love, grace and mercy is all about. Earthly riches pale in comparison to the treasure God has stored for us in heaven.

2 Kings 6
Arameans tries to attack Israel. Again, God's hand is always upon Israel. When Arameansa tries to capture Elisha to stop him from warning the King of Israel about his attacks, his plans backfires. God struck the enemy blind and they get captured by the king of Israel. v8-20

Elisha shows mercy for those who had been instructed to kill him, sparing thier lives and even giving orders for food and drink to be served to them. This amplifies the love of God and even the enemy is overcomed- they stopped attacking Israel.

Ben-Hadad laid a seige on Samaria again which caused severe famine and inflation. It got so bad to the point when people started eating other people's children. The king was certain that the seige was a disaster brought upon by God that he refused to trust in Him any longer and wanted to kill Elisha

2 Kings 7
Elisha prophecises that the famine will be over and inflation reversed. True enough, when four lepers went to the camp of Arameans, they found it abandoned. (God has caused them to heard the sound of chariors and horses and a great army, so they fled thinking that the Hittite and Egyptian kings had been hired to attack them.) The king did not believe it initially and sent servants to check it out. But because the officer whom the king had put i charge of the gate laughed at Elisha's prophecy, he did not live to eat and enjoy the plunder.

2 Kings 8
Ben-Hadad sends Hazael to consult Elisha about the king's illness. Elisha prophesises that the king will not survive, and Hazael will become the new king and slaughter the Israelites. Hazael is shocked, and questions how he could become king (despite Elijah already having anointed him as the next king of Aram, some while ago), but when he returns, he lies to Ben-hadad and says that Elisha had prophesied a recovery. The next day, Hazael smothers the king to death with a water soaked cloth, and becomes king in his place.

2 Kings 1 - 4 (2nd July) - Sylvia

2 Kings 1
Ahaziah injures himself after a fall and seeks advice from an idol- Baal-Zebub. This displeases the Lord thus He sent an angel to tell Elijah to warn Ahaziah about his death. Ahaziah sends captains to fetch Eljah. The first two, were not respectful towards God's anointed and thus were struck down and consumed by fire. (v9-12) The third one however, recgonised a man of God and pleaded for his life, thus he was spared.

As God had spoken, Ahaziah died and was succeeded by Joram.

2 Kings 2
Elijah was raptured and taken up to heaven in front of Elisha. Elisha inherits a double portion of Elijah's spirit because he asked by faith and it was given. v9-12

Elisha performs miracles in the name of the Lord (healing the water) v19-22

Those who make fun and disrespect God's people will be cursed. God's hand is upon His anointed.

2 Kings 3
Even though Joram had gotten rid of the idols of Baal, he still continued sinning. Nevertheless, God continued to be with the Israelites - providing for their needs and giving them victory over Moab.

2 Kings 4
By faith and through the Holy spirit, Elisha continued to show many signs and wonders of God, from overflowing the little bit of oil to mulitiplying scarce food to bringing the dead back to life.

Ask and you shall be given =) Lets ask God for Agape love and compassion and allow us to be a blessing to others.

Obadiah 1, Psalms 82 - 83 (1st July) - Kelvin

Obadiah 1:

In this book, Obadiah (which means servant of the Lord) prophesized against Esau(Edom). Basically,Its theme is that Edom, proud over her own security, has gloated over Israel’s devastation by foreign powers. However, Edom’s participation in that disaster will bring on God’s wrath. She herself will be destroyed, but Mount Zion and Israel will be delivered, and God’s kingdom will triumph. I guess the lesson learnt for us here would be never to mock others when times are no good for them but rather we should be more than ready to sympathise them.
Psalm 82-83:

In these 2 chapters, they are the psalm of Asaph. I see it as a prayer to God to rescue His people from the evildoers who are plotting against them. The enemies were described as being very strong and powerful, but the prayer was for God to judge them and help them overcome the enemies of their time so that all will know that theirs is a God the Most High.

2 Chronicles 19 - 23 (30th June) - Li Juan

2 Chronicles 19-23

Like the leaders and judges in Jerusalem and Judah, we need to learn to be just and partial as well. Jehoshaphat appointed judges in each city in Judah. He told them, “Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for man but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict.

Now let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.” Also, serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord, not to sin against the Lord for that will incur his wrath. Many times we can be struggling as the world haunts us with its seemingly harmless beliefs. However, we need to stand firm with what our God says, act with courage and God will be with us!

Then, the Moabites and Ammonites came to attack Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah came to inquire of the Lord together as they have no power to face this vast army before them. God said to them, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”

Similarly, throughout this 100K campaign, Satan will send out his army of fear, discouragement, insecurity and doubt, we have to always keep in mind that the battle is not ours, but God’s, and the battle is already won! We just have to act out in faith and claim these answered prayers, and see miracles happening after miracles!

After Jehoshaphat passed away, Jehoram and Ahaziah ruled as kings of Judah one after another and both do evil in the eyes of the Lord. After Ahaziah died, his mother, Athaliah destroyed the whole royal family of the house of Judah, but Joash, Ahaziah’s son was saved by his auntie, Jehosheba. When Joash grew up, his uncle, Jehoiada ordered all the priests and Levites to protect him. Then, Jehoiada brought Joash out, crowned and anointed him. Athaliah who was supposedly reigning was seized and slain by the sword. The temple of the Baal was tore down, the altars and idols were smashed, the priest of Baal was killed.

2 Chronicles 18, 1 Kings 22 (29th June) - Sylvia

Jehoshaphat was a man of God who walked in His ways, thus his life was blessed in many ways. Ahah, on the other hand was a king who disobeyed God and did evil deeds. God was very displeased and sent a lying spirit to place lies in false prophets, to lure him into going to war with Ramoth Gilead, giving him false hope that he would succeed.
Ahab listened to what was good to his ears, no matter how Jehoshapat tried to get him to seek a TRUE prophet of God.

As Micaiah spoke God's words and told Ahab what he saw, his words were rejected and Ahab even threw him into prision. As the Lord had declared, Ahab got killed during war and his blood licked by dogs, the same way which he had caused Naboth's death.

As for Jehoshapat who went to war with him, he was saved and his life spared because he had cried out to God.

Have we done evil in God's sight? Has God spoken and yet we decide to ignore His words and do what pleases us?

Lets humble ourselves and cry out to our Lord that He may shower His grace and mercy upon us, sparing our lives.

1 Kings 20 - 21 (28th June) - Xiao Woon

1 Kings 20

King Ben-hadad of Aram demanded for King Ahab’s silver and gold, wife and children. King Ahab agreed but after that Ben-hadad asked for more. He asked to take away everything Ahab consider valuable. He refused to accept Ben-hadad’s last demand and Ben-hadad wanted to attack the city.

Ahab was told by God that the enemy forces will be handed to him and that he will win them. He mustered the troops and attacked the Aramean army first as the Lord said and he won. However, that’s not the end. A prophet told him to get ready for another attack by Ben-hadad next spring.

Ben-hadad’s officers thought that God is a God of hills, not the plains. So, to prove them wrong, God gave them victory over the vast army though they look only like two little flocks of goats. Ben-hadad ran and hid in a secret room. Ben-hadad’s officers humbled themselves and wore sackcloths and surrendered to the king of Israel so that Ben-hadad may live. The king of Israel called for Ben-hadad and he made a treaty with Ben-hadad and set him free.

A prophet condemns Ahab

A prophet placed a bandage over his eyes to disguise himself and then waited beside the road for the king. When the king passed by, he told the king that he was told to guard a prisoner and if he gets away, then he’ll either die or pay a fine. The prisoner disappeared and when the king heard this, he said that the prophet deserved it. The prophet took off the bandage and the king recognized him. The prophet told him that because he spared the man that must be destroyed, he must die in his place. So the king of Israel went home to Samaria angry and sullen.

God really keeps to His promises. It just hit me that EACH and EVERY time the Lord says beforehand that He’ll deliver whatever country to whoever, He really will bring it to pass, unless He wants them to learn something else. God sees everything. He knows and tests our hearts. He used the prophet to test the king. Let us be aware of our hearts and let us not harden our hearts to the things or people around us, but to be watching so that we may always bless others.

1 Kings 21

Naboth owned a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. Ahab wanted to buy it over to use as a vegetable garden but Naboth said the Lord forbid that he should give Ahab the inheritance that was passed down by his ancestors. Ahab went back angry and when the wife found out, she wrote letters, commanding the citizens to fast and pray and then get 2 scoundrels to curse Naboth and to stone him to death. After Naboth died, Ahab immediately went down to claim the vineyard. The Lord then sent Elijah to tell Ahab that because he did evil in the sight of the Lord, God will bring disaster to him and consume him. When Ahab heard that he tore his clothing, wore sackcloth, even slept in it and went into deep mourning. The Lord then said that because he has humbled himself before the Lord, God will not do what He promised but that it will happen to his sons, and his dynasty.

Sometimes our own deep desires will lead us to the wrong things. So we must be careful what our desires are and we must align them to God’s desires. That’s where God will bless. When we want something so much, we may end up doing things to get what we ourselves want and God will not stop us because He gave us the free will to make our own choices. It is only when after that we have to bear the consequences of not aligning our desires with the Lord’s. But see that as long as we humble ourselves before the Lord, He is always ready to forgive us. I remember Jackie Pullinger said that God is ALWAYS ready to forgive us even BEFORE we asked Him for forgivenesss. Thank God for His mercy=)

1 Kings 17 - 19 (27th June) - Karen

The story of Elijah 1 Kings 17 – 19

In Chapter 17 we gain insights on how God works.

1. God provides in ways we least expect (Vs. 10)
- He fed Elijah by the ravens and through the widow.

2. Every miracle begins with an act of obedience (Vs. 13-16)
- The widow thought it was her last meal she was preparing before she died.
- She trusted Elijah and gave all she had to eat to him
- Faith is the first step she took

3. Depend on God, Not His works
- The famine was terrible, but the worst was yet to come for the Widow, her son died some time later
- Sometimes even when God has done a miracle in our lives, our troubles may not be over.
- God’s providence is never given in order for us to rest upon it
- We need to depend on Him as new trial faces us.

As Elijah’s journey continues we see in Chapter 18 how Elijah challenged the people to take a stand. Why did so many people waver between the two choices – to follow the Lord or Baal?

1. Making a stand for God
- If we drift along with whatever is pleasant and easy, we will someday discover that we have been worshiping a false god.

2. In today’s context, false god represents things that we depend on other than God.
- It could be Power, Status, Appearance or Material Possessions.
- We can devote our lives to them, but when we reach times of crisis, they cannot offer true answers, guidance or wisdom. (Vs. 29)

In Chapter 19 we read about Elijah fleeing to Mount Horeb from Queen Jezebel. Having experienced two great spiritual victories, Elijah now had to flee for his life. Feeling all alone and discouraged, he fell into depression and discouragement. God led him out of his depression by first letting him Rest and Eat. God then spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper about returning to his mission – to speak God’s words in Israel.

1. God has work for us to do even when we feel fear and failure
2. God always has more resources and people than we know about
3. Although we might wish to do miracles for God, we should instead focus on developing a relationship with Him. The real miracle of Elijah’s life was his very personal relationship with God…And that miracle is available to us.

1 Kings 15:25 - 16:34, 2 Chronicles 17 (26th June) - Joshua

God Establishes.

This 2 segments of passage document the brief history of the lives of kings of Israel and Judah during the warring period after the death of Solomon.

In the reign of Asa, as king of Judah, that was 6 kings that became King over Israel. The surprising long establishing of Asa compared to the frequent changes of kings in Israel was intriguing.

A read about Asa's life shows this interesting difference : "Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as his father David had done" (1 Kings 15:11)
The rest of the kings have this interesting similarity : " He did evil in the eyes of the LORD" OR " all the sins (He) had committed and had caused Israel to commit, so that they provoked the Lord."

In this warring state of Israel and Judah's history, a time where every king is faced with threats and uncertainty. But God establish the ways of the man who chooses to do what is right before Him. "Asa's heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life." - 15:14

2 Chronicles 13 - 16; 1 Kings 15: 1-24 (25th June) - Sky

2 Chronicles 13
Abijah, a new king reigned in Judah. This chapter not only speaks how he reigned as King. But even when Abijah did not serve the Lord wholeheartly, He trust God and was a lamp in Jerusalem.

Abijah was the descendent of David, Solomon and Rehoboam. And what was interesting in this chapter was:

V5 Don’t you know that the Lord, the God of Israel, has given the kingship of Israel to David and his descendents forever by a covenant of salt

Salt is a valued preservative. This phrase suggests that the promise like other things salted would be preserved because GOD’s promise to David was everlasting.

Isn’t our life with Christ, his promises, his blessings and victory is forever by a covenant of salt?

2 Chronicles 14
Asa descendant of Abijah is another King who lived right in the eyes of the Lord our God. Destroying idols, and obeying the Lord’s laws and commands. This chapter not only shows how much Asa was blessed but also the power of the Lord.

Asa was blessed with peace and rest, but when he was invaded, he humbled himself in V11 relying on God and calling onto the Lord for victory. And of course they won.

2 Fact always remains in life and that is
1) We will always need to rely on the Lord
2) We win in HIS name

2 Chronicles 15
Asa continued being a King right for the Lord, removing all the detestable idols and repairing the alter of the Lord.

The nation was plunged into idolatry and had neglected the worship of the Lord. Asa saw that a heartfelt revival was needed. Although the covenant Israel had made with God at Sinai had already been renewed several times as the nation recommitted itself to the Lord.

Asa even deposed of his grandmother from her position as queen mother as she made a Asherah pole. He cut it down and burns it outside the City in Kidron Valley. Asa lived obediently righteously in his years of kingship and no war came upon him until the 35th year.

2 Chronicles 16
In this chapter teaches a valuable lesson. For most of his life, Asa was good but at the near of his life he did not finish well.

Not seeking and relying God for that victory, he took silver and gold from the Lord’s temple. Not even relying God for healing of his disease but only seek physicians. He died and rested with his Fathers.

Someone who lived life righteously for the Lord did not end well. Rejected God’s word, refused to seek God’s help in times of national and personal crisis. Maybe Asa grew complacent with all the blessings but should we?

Ask yourself how do u finish well for Christ? In your race, your goals and your life.

1 King 15:1-24
This chapter is a summary of Abijah and Asa, both kings of Judah, 1 finished well while the other didn’t.

And the next king to reign in Judah is Asa’s son Jehoshaphat.

2 Chronicles 10 - 12 (24th June) - Vivien

2 Chron 10 -11
As in the previous entry, we have seen the silly action of the king. God is always merciful. He considered the good things done by his forefathers and showed mercy to Rehoboam. Even though we can see that this king was not very wise in selective listening, he still obeyed God’s instruction. As for Jeroboam, God actually wanted to bless him with the 10 tribes, but he don’t know how to cherish it and turned away from God, so in the end the Israelites returned to support King Rehoboam.

Before Chapter 11 ended, there were 2 paragraphs about Rehoboam’s family. In verse 23, it says that Rehoboam acted wisely, dispersing his sons throughout the district and provided for his family abundantly and even took many wives for them. His grandfather, David, was a good at being king, but not a father. His father, Solomon, was good at being king too, but a womanizer, causing him to be far from God. For him, although at times, he didn’t make the wise choice as a king, I felt that he was a better father. He was careful with handling matters at home so that minimum jealousy would occur among his sons. And I believe that he has taken care of his family well.

2 Chron 12
Actually God wanted to abandon Rehoboam’s kingdom to Shishak, but because he humbled himself, it changed God’s mind! See once again how merciful is our Heavenly Father! And so after all, King Rehoboam is a good king and a good father who has successfully raised a successor that is faithful to God (2 Chron 13).

Humble yourself and surely God’s favour will be with you!

1 Kings 12 - 14 (23rd June) - Stephanie

1 Kings 12

The elders of Israel offered Rehoboam the throne of Israel as this was a logical continuation after David and Solomon. Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, however, heard through a prophet earlier that he would rule over a portion of a divided Israel and he became interested in becoming Solomon’s successor.

Solomon was a great king in his time, but he took a lot from his people. The people of Israel wanted relief from the heavy taxation and forced service of Solomon’s reign and they offered allegiance to Rehoboam if he were to agree to lighten their yoke.

Rehoboam was wise to consult the elders who were with his father, Solomon when he was still alive. The elders told him to show kindness and a servant’s heart to his people so that they would love him and serve him forever. Their good advice, however, fell on deaf ears. (.. Bu ting lao ren yen, Chi kui zai yan qian…)

Silly Rehoboam eventually took the advice of his peers instead.

Frankly, this seems like a common phenomenon in today’s time, isn’t it? What we would usually call selective listening. The idea is to keep asking others for advice till we find someone who will tell us exactly what we want to hear and hope to do. Pause for a moment and consider this: “Have you recently ignored what your parents, spiritual leaders or trusted counselors have to say just because those were the words you don’t really wish to hear? Think again, have you truly considered if those words may be the very advice that is the most beneficial to you and your current situation at hand?”

Anyway, shortly after giving his silly answer to the people, his people decided to plan a rebel.

It was interesting to know that God had managed this whole series of events even when He did not make Rehoboam take this unwise and sinful action but He simply left Rehoboam to make the critical errors his sinful heart wanted to.

Rehoboam was then rejected as king over the ten northern tribes and in actual fact, his folly has made Israel reject not only him but the entire dynasty of David, the descendents of Israel’s greatest king. Rehoboam did not take the rebellions seriously and sent Adoram (some chap famous for being harsh with forced labor) in hope to make good his promise to punish those who opposed him. Unfortunately for Adoram, he kena and was stoned to death. Rehoboam’s tough guy policy apparently didn’t work out well.

A long-standing tension between the ten northern tribes and Judah/Benjamin then continued.

Jeroboam, on the other hand, built Shechem, dwelt there and move on to build Penuel. He needed a capital city because Jerusalem was in the territory of Judah and Benjamin. But Jeroboam held a fear in his heart that his people will turn back to Rehoboam to acknowledge him as king. He seemed to have forgotten the promise God made to him through the prophet Ahijah (1 Kings 11) and started to shape religion for his own purpose. When his people started to worship the golden calves he made, it became a terrible sin of idolatry.

1 Kings 13

A man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord when Jeroboam was standing by the altar burning incense. He made a remarkable prophecy that would be precisely fulfilled 340 years later. Later in 2 Kings 23:15, we can see the fulfillment of this prophecy in the days of Josiah, King of Judah.

Jeroboam’s immediate reaction was to silence the prophet rather than to respond to his message. The prophecy was like a coming judgment for Jeroboam, an implicit invitation to repentance and Jeroboam obviously did not accept this invitation. His hand, which he stretched out toward the man of God, withered and he could not pull it back to himself – 1 Kings 13:4. Jeroboam then pleaded with the man of God to entreat the favor of God upon him, to pray for him so that his hand may be restored and the man of God did so.

This chapter’s focus is on Jeroboam being an example of sinful failure. He failed despite great blessing and favour from God, for the sake of mere political advantage. He failed by leading an entire nation into idolatry. He failed despite specific warnings to repent, judgment and deliverance from that judgment. He failed despite a clear message and example of integrity.

“Even after this, Jeroboam did not change his evil ways…. This was the sin of the house of Jeroboam that led to its downfall and to its destruction from the face of the earth.” – 1 Kings 13:33-34

1 Kings 14

This chapter marks the end of both Jeroboam and Rehoboam.

The end of Jeroboam, King of Israel (Verses 1 to 20)

When Abijah, the son of Jeroboam became sick, his wife disguised herself and tried to seek counsel from the true God and men of God. Jeroboam knew that idols could not help him in any true crisis. He because he also knew that he had rejected God and his prophets, he told his wife to wear a disguise before meeting Ahijah.

When the wife met Ahijah, the prophet, there was actually no reason for her disguise because Ahijah could not even see. He was blind. His blindness however, did not really matter because God had told him the truth of the whole matter. Jeroboam’s wife learned of two things. First that the news was bad and second, that though she was sent to Ahijah by her husband, in truth Ahijah was sent by God with a message to her and Jeroboam.

Ahijah declares God’s judgment on the house of Jeroboam.

Jeroboam reigned only for twenty-two years before he died and was buried with his fathers.

The end of Rehoboam, King of Judah (Verses 21 to 29)

Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked Him to jealously with their sins. These sins provoked the Lord because they were essentially sins of idolatry. Israel turned their back on the God who loved and redeemed them, and like an unfaithful spouse, they pursued spiritual adultery with idols. They were also perverted persons in the land. This specifically describes prostitutes associated with the worship of idols.

When Rehoboam died, he was buried with his fathers in the City of David.