Category Archives: choice

Feb27

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on February 27, 2015 by lsgrlr

I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 16. “ In the seventeenth year of Pekah the son of Remaliah, Ahaz the son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem; and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord his God, as his father David had done. But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel; indeed he made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel. And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree” (Verses 1-4). Just a reminder today to serve God in true obedience walk in His way and listen to his voice. Note that God did not say Ahaz did evil, here the scripture said, “he did not do what was right”. Ahaz was nice, probably a great and loved king, but he didn’t lead the people to God. We are not only meant to be nice, we are meant to do good. We are called to be ambassadors of Christ.

Feb25

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on February 25, 2015 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 15. “In the twenty-seventh year of Jeroboam king of Israel, Azariah the son of Amaziah, king of Judah, became king. He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jecholiah of Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his father Amaziah had done, except that the high places were not removed; the people still sacrificed and burned incense on the high places. Then the Lord struck the king, so that he was a leper until the day of his death; so he dwelt in an isolated house. And Jotham the king’s son was over the royal house, judging the people of the land” (Verses 1-5). You can’t serve God half way. Jeroboam becomes king, he does what is right in the sight of God, except… There can be no exceptions. God is not asking for perfection, He understands our human condition, but as much as depends on us we must choose right. Jeroboam served God, but he didn’t lead his people to do the same. The goal of the king is to lead. The goal of the Christian is to draw others to Christ. We can’t do it halfway. Today let’s serve God with our WHOLE heart.

Feb20

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on February 20, 2015 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 11. “And all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal, and tore it down. They thoroughly broke in pieces its altars and images, and killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord. Then he took the captains of hundreds, the bodyguards, the escorts, and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of the Lord, and went by way of the gate of the escorts to the king’s house. Then he sat on the throne of the kings. So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet, for they had slain Athaliah with the sword in the king’s house. Jehoash was seven years old when he became king” (Verses 18-21). Destroy the idols, remove them. No man can serve two gods. We can’t hold anything in our lives above God, and expect that we can serve Him as He deserves as well. Every time that God was victorious on be half of Israel the first thing that happened was the removal and tearing down of idols. Today we may not worship statues, but we worship other things, cars, lands, riches, our jobs, our family. Anything we put before God is an idol, it is what we worship. Put life back in order, let God be the only thing we worship and everything else must fall under His perfect control.

Feb18

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on February 18, 2015 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 10. “However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan. And the Lord said to Jehu, ‘because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.’But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin” (Verses 29-31). There are days that I want to apologize to God that we are the instruments He has to use. This scripture is a great minder why. It is so easy for us to turn away, so easy for us to forget what God said, what God did. Jehu obeyed and followed God’s plan until he felt like doing his own thing. We do the same in a bind, when we are scared, when God is showing Himself powerful on our behalf, we listen we obey. But the moment He tells us to do something outside of our plans, we act as though we don’t understand. The beauty and awesomeness of God is that He, “remembers our frame, He knows we are but dust”, this is why we are not consumed. Today let’s not use God for our own gain, instead let’s obey His word and spread His love to a world in need of Him.

Feb17

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on February 17, 2015 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 9. “Then Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, ‘Is all well? Why did this madman come to you?’And he said to them, ‘You know the man and his babble.’ And they said, ‘A lie! Tell us now.’ So he said, ‘Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, Thus says the Lord: I have anointed you king over Israel.’ Then each man hastened to take his garment and put it under him on the top of the steps; and they blew trumpets, saying, ‘Jehu is king!’ (Verses 11-13). This section of scripture makes me smile. Why? Well Elisha sends his servant to anoint Jehu king. Jehu’s servants think Elisha is crazy, thinks anyone associated with Elisha is crazy. They tell Jehu that what the man said was a lie, and then proceed to do exactly what Elisha’s servant said to do. Why is that? Who would listen and obey a crazy person they thought was lying to them? No one. Here’s a truth just like Jehu’s servant, we ALL know God is just, we ALL know God is truth. These beliefs, no matter how hard we try to push them aside are deep with in us. Our creator, created us to know the truth, even if we choose not to acknowledge them. We all know that God is truth, we all know that there is more than what the world offers. Instead of fighting God, we should embrace His will, He really does have the best for us, because He knows us best.

Feb13

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on February 13, 2015 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 8. “And Elisha said to him, ‘Go, say to him, You shall certainly recover. However the Lord has shown me that he will really die.’ Then he set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God wept. And Hazael said, ‘Why is my lord weeping?’ He answered, ‘Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword; and you will dash their children, and rip open their women with child.’ So Hazael said, ‘But what is your servant—a dog, that he should do this gross thing?’ And Elisha answered, ‘The Lord has shown me that you will become king over Syria'” (Verses 10-13). Have you ever found yourself turning into something you never thought you’d become. It feels to me that, that is exactly Hazel’s circumstance, but with one small difference. God showed him before hand, therefore giving him a chance to repent, and giving him and opportunity to make a different choice, which he never took. It is sad how easily we cast of God’s gifts for things that are easier, but eternally less fulfilling. Today’s lesson when God gives you and easy out… TAKE IT. Don’t wallow in sin when He wants to give you real freedom.

Feb4

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on February 4, 2015 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 6. “So he answered, ‘Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’ And Elisha prayed, and said, ‘Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, ‘Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.’ And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha” (Verses 16-18). Hands down one of my most favorite portions of scripture. When God opened the servants eyes so he could see the army of God surrounding them. I love this scripture, because the we don’t see the spiritual, but it exists. God is always protecting us, He is always with us. Even when life is hard, even when we face certain death. God presences doesn’t mean bad won’t come, it simply means He goes through it with us. But then there are those days when it means He will not allow harm, and we like Elisha’s servant get to be slack-jawed and awed by the awesome power of God. So today no matter the circumstance trust that God is there walking through it with us.

Jan30

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on January 30, 2015 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 4. “So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, ‘Bring me another vessel.’ And he said to her, ‘There is not another vessel.’ So the oil ceased. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest'” (Verses 5-7). The most common human struggle, debt. The widow was faced with losing her sons as payment for debt after her husband died. While the debt is real as is the fear the woman faced, that is not what I want to focus on, what I want to focus on is God meeting the need. His means was both miraculous and very normal. When we face a trial or a worry, we want God to give us a miracle, but many times He uses the normal in a miraculous way. The woman had a part to play a role to fill, God did not just drop it in her lap. He wanted her to be an active participant in His will. People like to say God helps those who help themselves. I disagree. No, God helps those who DO what He says.

Jan29

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on January 29, 2015 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 3. “And Elisha said, ‘As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you'” (Verse 14). Among the three kings that came to see Elisha, Jehoshaphat was the light, the one that stood bright in the darkness. We are called to be a light, called to shine so that others can see God in us. If not for Jehoshaphat’s presence the prophet would never had andswered, God would not have answered. Today let’s be the light we are called to be, we may be the only thing that stands between darkness and the answer someone needs to hear.

Jan27

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on January 27, 2015 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 1. “Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, ‘Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.’ But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, ‘Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? ⁴Now therefore, thus says the Lord: You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’ So Elijah departed” (Verses 2-4). I do this a lot, find an alternative means. God exists, He is real, He is active, He is alive, and He meets my needs the best. Yet, I never seem to go to Him first. It is always some alternative means of trying to get my needs met, which will usually lead to the situation getting worse, and then I cry out to God. But God despite my silly wandering God will always meet me right were I am. The king knew God, but choose an alternative means to find the answer to a question that really and truly only God could answer. Let’s take warning from this story. Let’s go to God first. God and only God can answer.