June 21

Today’s Reading - 1 Kings 20 -22

(1 Ki 21:3 KJV) And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which teaches us that we always need to be faithful, regardless of the consequences. Naboth was a godly man and refused to disobey the Lord by selling the vineyard to Ahab. (Lev 25:23 KJV) The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me. God had commanded that the land was not to be sold. This is a good lesson that the believer should not sell out their integrity for any price. Naboth refused to sell Ahab his land and that caused Ahab to throw a juvenile fit which was pouting on his bed. Now Jezebel was a pagan princess before she married Ahab. She was not used to having any of her subjects refuse royalty anything. Pagan kings and queens would just kill the owners and steal the land. So Jezebel assured her husband that he would own the vineyard. She made a feast and brought in some liars to make accusations against Naboth. Eventually Naboth was accused of blasphemy and was stoned to death. Then Jezebel told Ahab to take over the vineyard. This was a common tactic which was done in the middle ages and during the Salem witch trials. True Christians were accused of being witches and since they would not make a false admission of this, they were executed. One of the strategies used was if a land owner wanted a certain piece of property, they would accuse someone of witchcraft and then when that person was executed, bought the land. Even after the witchcraft hysteria ended, many true Christians continued to languish in jails till they died, never being freed from the penalty of false accusations.

When we read of Naboth, we can realize that this event has been played out in the lives of many Christians right down to today. It doesn’t necessarily mean that a Christian will be executed, although this is happening often in many countries, especially where Islam rules. As Christians, if we choose to remain faithful to the Lord, we can expect a reward of opposition. Sometimes that conflict will result in some type of loss. This could happen on the job or even in our personal lives. Sometimes a spouse will become saved and the other will remain unsaved, and the unsaved one will leave thus breaking up the marriage. In this world of sin, obeying God will cause difficulties in our life. (1 Pet 4:1 KJV) Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; God gives us scenarios like that of Naboth to teach us that obedience to God comes with a price. While we are in this flesh, we will have tribulation and many times that comes in a hostile environment. Peter is warning us that we can expect serious opposition if we hold to the true gospel. Like Naboth, we may suffer loss but in the Kingdom of God, loss for holding to the truth, is gain. Our testimony to the world is the enduring of the trials with all its consequences. This is why God gives us passages of Scripture like Romans 8:38-39. Today, when you face opposition for the kingdom of God, count it as all gain, even though you may face some type of loss.

June 22

Today’s Reading - 2 Kings 1 - 3

(2 Ki 1:2 KJV) And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, inquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which gives us a good lesson in watching where our focus is. When Ahaziah fell through his lattice, he made a grave mistake and went to inquire of Satan as to whether he would recover. First of all, Satan would have no knowledge of God’s plans for any human being, so to go to the false god, would be useless. Satan is also the outright enemy of Christians and would definitely give them advice which would cause them to sin against God. As Christians we know that Satan is a defeated foe and he has no interest in the believers except to try and derail their spiritual walk. He hates God’s children because he hates God. Now do people in our age practice the same mistake that Ahaziah practiced? The answer is yes! How many people check their horoscope each day? How many call in to these psychics for $4.00 per minute? We see many of these so-called “psychics” up and down the roads where we live in our communities. A question to ask them is, “If you psychics are so good, how come not one of you foresaw the terrorist attacks on 9/11?” Probably one of the worst affronts to God is when Christians begin to check their horoscopes each day. We don’t want to think they do but there are those who do and chalk it up to innocent fun.

Horoscopes have been handed down since the time of the Tower of Babel and has been a tenet of occultism since that time. Ahaziah had no idea that he was seeking the enemy of all of God’s people. Today these black arts are dressed up to look like respectable disciplines but they are the same old occultism. Not only is seeking the advice of Satan sin, also seeking the advice of unbelievers alone. Unbelievers have no idea of what the true Christian life is all about. Whenever we need to seek advice about our lives, we must go to God and nowhere else. Many times God will bring an answer through another one of His children. Sometimes we will gain an answer from reading or studying the Bible. I know in my personal life I had a question in mind and would read a passage from the Bible and there would be my answer. Woe unto us if we travel in the realm of Satan and think we are going to get some kind of insight into our life. When Ahaziah sent the messengers, God immediately engaged His prophet to speak with the messengers that the king dispatched. The messengers brought back the news to Ahaziah that he was going to die from his wounds, which he did. His actions of seeking Satan caused the death of 100 men as we see further in the chapter. Toying with any of Satan’s devices will devastate our life. We have been saved out of the kingdom of Satan and we should desire nothing from that kingdom which would cause us to sin against God. Let use the discernment which God has given us as a benefit of our salvation and bring obedience before Him!

June 23

Today’s Reading - 2 Kings 4 - 6

(2 Ki 5:10 KJV) And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which is the beginning of a great lesson for Naaman and for us. Naaman had leprosy and in the Bible it was a symbol for sin. This disease also required that the person afflicted with it was to remain outside the camp. However, Naaman had done the right thing in wanting to seek healing in Israel because he had heard there was a prophet in Israel from the little girl he took captive. So Naaman had decided to venture into Samaria and seek out the prophet. Naaman had prepared well for the journey bringing all kinds of expensive gifts, including silver and gold. So Naaman went to the house of Elisha, but Elisha did not personally come out to greet him, instead he sent one of his messengers to him. Naaman was told to go wash in the Jordan river seven times. What was his reaction? Naaman became angry. Naaman, like many Christians, believed that the only way God could heal him was with a great show. He was probably expecting accompanying events like lightning and thunder. He thought he was going to receive a grandiose healing. In the above verse, Naaman received a simple test of faith. Sometimes God comes to us with the simple things. God does not always accomplish His will by sending adverse or difficult circumstances. Do you know why our circumstances normally go from simple to difficult? It is because we miss the simple tests of faith that God sends us.

Naaman made a big mistake because he was given a simple step to take to become healed. In verse 12, Naaman began to start introducing his own ideas and ways when he was giving a loud discourse on how much more purer the rivers of Syria were. He said he could go wash in them and be clean! The rivers of Syria may have been much cleaner and purer, but the fact remained that God did not want him in those rivers. God would accomplish Naaman’s healing in the Jordan river. Well, obviously Naaman was angry but his servants brought him back to reality and told him that if the prophet would have asked him to do something great, he would have. You know, thank the Lord today for someone in your life that has at one time or another brought you back to spiritual reason. Finally Naaman obeys and washes in the Jordan seven times which results in his cleansing and healing. Naaman glorified God for his healing. Isn’t it a good thing that the healing of Naaman was accomplished despite his initial reaction of anger? This gives us encouragement that God’s will for His children will not be thwarted by our obstinate attitudes. There is a great lesson here for all Christians. Let us not overlook the simple things in our life. It could save us a lot of grief later on. Sometimes God chooses to bless us in a simple manner. The problem is that we don’t want to be involved with simplicity, instead we seem to thrive on all the complexities of life and we carry that over into our spiritual life. So today, when you go to church and all you seem to be doing is just handing out the bulletins or greeting people, keep in mind that is a ministry of introduction which is important to any church. The visitors will judge the church by you! Small responsibility? I don’t think so! Yet, it is a simple responsibility which carries weighty results.

Let us say a visitor comes to the church and you greet them with a very cold shoulder, as if they are disturbing you. Everything that happens while they visit, will be filtered through your initial interaction with them. The guarantee is they will not return. The people are never going to hear the sermon next week if they don’t come back. So there is no such thing as a small responsibility in the kingdom of God. So no matter what it is, a simple faith test or a small spiritual work. It all has eternal results!

June 24

Today’s Reading - 2 Kings 7 - 10

(2 Ki 7:9 KJV) Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household.

In today’s reading we come across this scenario involving four lepers who took it upon themselves to go into the Syrian camp. At the time they went, they did not know that God had caused mighty sounds of an advancing army to frighten the Syrians. The Syrians had fled in the night in such fear that they left their goods behind. So the four lepers decided to take a chance and go into the camp and see if they could find food. They knew that if they stayed where they were, they would die anyway so what they did was, they took a chance on life. What a surprise when they went into the camp and found no one was there and then began to feast. They went into one tent and ate and drank, then went into other tents and took gold and silver and hid the treasure. Then they came to a realization that what they were doing was wrong. Not the fact that they were eating and drinking because they were hungry but they realized they should not keep this good fortune to themselves. So they decided to go and report what had happened and what they found when they went into the camp. The king sent people to check it out and found the report to be accurate. So the people went out and brought in the spoils from the tents of the Syrians.

This is a tremendous spiritual lesson for us. If you notice that the story teaches us that when the four lepers were eating and hiding the treasures for themselves, the only one enjoying the scenario was the four lepers. It is when they had decided to speak up is when all the people began to share in the fortunes. The lesson for us is that we who are saved are in possession of a spiritual fortune which is salvation. We must grasp the same mindset as the lepers that if we do not share the gospel, then we will not do well. The lepers saw this situation and called it a “day of good tidings.” Today is the day of grace and we need to see this as a day of good tidings. It is every Christian’s responsibility to share the gospel with as many people as possible. The problem is that many of us “hold our peace” at the wrong times. You may not be able to witness verbally, as many cannot, but there is a plethora of written Christian materials available, from the simple tract to the book. Whenever a person becomes saved then they are plundering the kingdom of Satan. How many Christians who read this have cars? Do you have at least one good Christian bumper sticker on your car? In New Jersey, we have many people living in my area with many major highways surrounding my home. On an average day, when I just go on short runs, I can reach about 100 people and that is being conservative. If you have a witness on your car, and get into a traffic jam, then your sticker will witness to a lot more than 100 people in just a few minutes. We spend a lot of time in our cars, and it is a time when we cannot verbally witness but that sticker can do it for us. This is an aside, but if you place the Lord’s name on your car, then you will not be so ready to make a hand gesture or verbal assault on someone if they cut you off. When you realize that the person behind you sees that you represent the Lord, it is a discipline to keep our tempers in check. By the way, it is the Lord’s car and remember when the Bible states that we are to sell everything and give to the poor? Well part of that selling or the using of the Lord’s material goods is for the Kingdom of God. We should use as many of the good witnessing tools available to us for the furtherance of the Kingdom of Christ. Remember, we do not do well if we hold our peace plus that is disobedience to the Great Commission. You know, I wonder if bumper stickers were around in ancient times, if Joseph would have had one on his chariot? I guess we will never know but if we are going to be a “chariot of fire” for the Lord, then we must ignite our evangelistic fervor.

June 25

Today’s Reading - 2 Kings 11 - 14:20

(2 Ki 13:21 KJV) And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which can help alleviate our ministry anxieties a little bit. When Elijah asked Elisha what he wanted him to do for him. Elisha had asked Elijah for a double portion of his spirit. Elijah told him that the request would be granted if Elisha sees Elijah taken from him. Elijah had performed seven miracles and Elisha would perform 14 miracles. The verse above is the fourteenth miracle that Elisha performed. However, when Elisha performed his last miracle, he was already dead. So when Elisha died, he had performed only thirteen miracles. Now as people, we would probably say something to the effect that he died one miracle short of his goal or his ministry was incomplete. This would be spoken from the human perspective but as Christians we must always look at things from the spiritual perspective with the eyes of faith. Normally any Christian who dies would be considered done with their earthly ministry. (Rev 14:13 KJV) And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them. However, when we look at this verse, we see that even if our earthly labors are done, our ministry still continues. God tells us that His word will not come back void but will accomplish whatever He sets it out to do.

Elisha had died but God kept His word and performed the fourteenth miracle without Elisha having any life in his body. Elisha was in glory but his last miracle was being performed on earth. It is interesting to note that his last great work was a resurrection. God is showing us that He is in charge of life and death. Yesterday, I had written concerning being a witness for the gospel. Even after the Lord takes you, your ministry fruits will continue on. However, if you have no ministry, then at death your ministry dies also. What a sad testimony to live a whole life as a Christian, and never bear any fruit or to be found fighting against those who do. There is also an upside to this verse that gives us encouragement. Many times in ministry we want to see the fruits of our labor right away. This is a typical human reaction. However, when a seed is planted in the ground, when do we have evidence it took root? Immediately? Or when it begins to push through the ground as a tender plant? On the campus of the Seminary in Zarephath, New Jersey, where I used to work is a tree which dates back before the American War for Independence (1776-1783). In a Presbyterian Churchyard in Basking Ridge, New Jersey is a tree which dates back to the time of Columbus (1492). So it takes time for a seed to germinate and grow. It was said that George Mueller prayed for the salvation of a person for fifty years and the person became saved at Mueller’s funeral.

In 2002, we still have the faithful writings and even some recordings of past faithful Christians who are still bearing fruit today, long after their bodies have turned to dust. Spurgeon’s “Treasury of David” is still a best seller. “The Christian in Complete Armor” by William Gurnall is still being printed today. What about the writings of Richard Baxter? Martin Luther’s works are still being published today, as is the works of Calvin. If you use a King James Bible, then know that it’s history was bathed in the blood of the Christians who protected it and hid it from the onslaught of the Roman Catholic Institution during the Middle Ages. Many who died protecting our Bible will never be known to us, but the fact remains that they were successful and we have the Bible today, which means their ministry and sacrifices are still bearing fruit today.

What about you my friend? As you read this short challenge, can you look at your present ministry and count yourself among those who are building the kingdom or opposing those who are trying? Are you a Nehemiah or a Sanballat? Will your works follow you into heaven for years to come? When the Lord speaks of works following, He is not speaking of books, writing, or web sites, He is speaking of the souls that have been saved by God through your ministry. The works that count in the Kingdom of God are those which perpetuate the Kingdom of God. God also counts as faithful those who also help build up the body of Christ and not tear it down or confuse it. (Heb 6:10 KJV) For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister. Time for a little introspection? But keep in mind, that all the faithful works we accomplish on earth may not come to fruition for many years yet. Be faithful in your works and be encouraged that those works will follow you as you rest in Glory.

June 26

Today’s Reading - Joel 1 - 3

(Joel 2:25 KJV) And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which teaches the restorative nature of God. The caterpillar and the cankerworm may have been locusts in different developmental stages. The palmerworm is like a locust without wings. It obviously did not fly but it’s destructive methods was a slow encroachment on the fields. God used the palmerworm as a judgment against Judah as we read in Amos 4:9. (Amos 4:9 KJV) I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. Nevertheless, whatever these four insects were, they were destructive in nature and had the ability, in swarm, to strip the land bare. These types of insects give us a good picture of the destructive nature of sin in the life of someone. Sin tends to strip away all our value until we begin to seek value in the sin, which of course, is a mighty deception. How many today are walking the streets deceived by the destructive nature of sin? How many drunks say, “I can handle it.” Or how many smokers claim that they can quit any time they want. Even Christians can get tied up in the sins of the world and lose their values. Until we are safe on those Beautiful Shores, we are still in the flesh which is tied to this world and all its antithesis to the things of God.

What happens if you really experience a setback in your Christian walk? Is there no help? Will God not take you back and restore you? Verses like the one today were placed in the Bible so we would realize that God will restore His children. Now if we have deviated from the teachings of Scripture, God will restore us but there may be losses that will be permanent. Let’s say a Bible teacher in a Christian college starts dating a student behind his wife’s back. Can this type of person be restored to full fellowship with the Lord? Of course, because the Lord Jesus is right there to heal broken lives, but this man may never be restored to his teaching profession since the temptation will always be there and he has violated a trust by adulterating his marriage. Sin always has consequences. God can and will restore us if we come to Him in genuine repentance and not just earthly sorrow for the consequences we have reaped. God has placed in the Bible examples in the lives of His children for two reasons and not just for easy reading. The first reason is so we may recognize the signs that we are succumbing to temptation and the second reason is, if we do not heed the first reason, there is restoration but the restoration will be on God’s terms. If God restores us, then there will come a time of waiting to see if we have really repented of our sin, but if not, God will turn up the furnace of affliction a little hotter until we stop playing and come home. Remember, in the word “play” is the word “pay.” The bottom line is, no matter how bad things get, we remember the story of the Prodigal Son and how the Father welcomed his son home after his time of riotous living. This is how God sees His children. No matter what you have done, there is forgiveness and restoration at the foot of the cross. You can do nothing in this life so bad, from which God cannot restore you. Remember, if God is willing to restore fields and lands, how much more do you think He is willing to restore one of his redeemed wanderers? (Mat 10:31 KJV) Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

June 27

Today’s Reading - 2 Kings 14:21-25; Jonah 1 - 4

(Jonah 1:2-3 KJV) Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. {3} But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

In today’s reading we have the entire book of Jonah. Jonah shows us the illogical idea that we can run from God. When God reveals something that He wants us to do in our life, it makes no sense to run from our marching orders. Jonah tried it and he was even so bold as to reveal his attempted flight from God to the mariners (1:10). God had a mission for Jonah and no matter what he did, God was going to complete that mission through Jonah. One principle which we see in this book is that whenever we sin, we will affect others. Jonah’s attempted flight caused much danger aboard the ship because of the storm. Take into account the material goods which were lost because the sailors had attempted to lighten the load in the ship by throwing the cargo overboard. So Jonah not only endangered the lives of the crew but he also caused loss of property. As we can plainly see, there is loss in sin. Needless to say, Jonah did not win the contest and eventually he saw things God’s way, especially after the ordeal of being swallowed by a great fish. I guess that could have opinion changing effects on anyone. So after Jonah’s time of affliction in the belly of the fish, we see the mercy of God in that His word came to Jonah a second time.

We have much to learn from Jonah in that it is impossible to dispute the revealed will of God. God had a mission for Jonah and he would not thwart that plan. How many Christians are being called to go to the mission field but we ignore that calling and figure that we could stay home, get a job, and support missions that way. That would be living an entire life in disobedience to God. If God is calling us to do a certain work and if we think that we can fill the gap which God has created for us with dollar bills, then we have gotten the wrong idea about our salvation. God has given each Christian spiritual gifts, which means He has empowered us to do a certain job. God is not expecting us to shirk our duties by supplanting them with our checkbook. Supporting missions, ministries, and our church is fine, we should do those things but they are not a substitute for becoming involved. I believe the only group that is not personally involved in ministry, except for their checkbook, are those whom God has given the spiritual gift of Giving. These Christians have the god-given ability to make money and to fund the Lord’s work in great amounts. These people live to give! This does not mean we do not give smaller gifts but it means we are to work in the spiritual parameters God has created in us.

Jonah decided that he did not want to bring the Word of God to Nineveh, since they were the enemy of Israel. We must keep ethnicity out of our Christian outlook since the reality is that every unbeliever is the enemy of Christianity. If God has a ministry for us to do, and we choose not to do it, maybe the word of the Lord will not come to us a second time. God may choose to place us on a shelf for the rest of our life. We will find out the hard way that God is the potter and we are the clay. Whenever God lays something on our heart, we should ask how we may go about to accomplish it and not how we may avoid it. Christian service is not easy but God has given us the appropriate spiritual gift to tackle the mission. Let us put aside the spirit of Jonah and take up the mantle of Elijah.

June 28

Today’s Reading - 2 Kings 14:26-29; Amos 1-3

(Amos 1:2 KJV) And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

In today’s reading we come across this verse which gives the church an ominous commission. In Scripture both “Zion” and “Jerusalem” (the new) refer to the body of Christ and our commission is to send forth the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. As we see in this verse there is a message of judgment being bellowed forth from the Lord. Amos was one of the prophets which foretold the impending judgment of Judah for her sins. This verse also carries with it a solemn New Testament principle which we find in 1 Peter 4:17. (1 Pet 4:17 KJV) For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? The words “at” in this verse are the preposition “apo” which carry with it the meaning of “away from or out of.” We see that in both the Amos passage and the Peter passage that there is going to be a going forth of judgment from the house of God. The word “roar” in the Amos passage carries with the meaning of “crying out like a lion.” In the second part of that verse, we read that God was going to utter His voice. The word “utter” carries with it the meaning “to give or put.” So God is going to send his voice from Zion and Jerusalem. Sometimes a voice is heard without words and is heard in deeds. The Old Testament Jerusalem was taken into captivity because she became apostate and was following after other gods. So God raised up the Chaldeans to bring the judgment upon them and since Jerusalem stopped listening to the words of the prophets, they listened to the deeds of judgment which were performed against her by God Himself.

One of the most serious messages the church has ever preached through the ages was that a judgment was coming and every unsaved person would stand for their sins and be cast into an eternity of damnation in Hell. The church has been preaching this message since the time of Pentecost in 33 AD and just as God stopped sending the prophets to Jerusalem and finally brought judgment on them, there will come a time when God will stop sending the message of judgment through the church to the world and bring the judgment which has been proclaimed in His word. This is a hard message to preach and the world has been laughing at the message of judgment, but just as the world laughed at Noah when he built the Ark, judgment came. The mocking of the world will not affect the coming judgment of God. The Book of Amos among other books in the Old Testament are replete with the language of judgment. They serve as warnings to the world that God did not tolerate the idolatry of Israel and Judah, and He will not tolerate the sinning of the world forever. (Gen 6:3 KJV) And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. As Noah and Enoch were preaching the Word to their generation and they were mocked, in like manner those who mock the message of judgment will be judged eternally. This is a very hard message to preach but it is one that MUST be preached. God has committed to us His Word and we must avoid the temptation of only preaching the stories of the Bible without bringing the message of judgment day. Many churches ask the question of how to bring revival back into our land? Some churches think that jumping up and down in church is a revival, but it is more like a football game. Whenever the churches want to have true revival, all they need to do is start preaching the message of the coming judgment and preach it hard. Too many churches are tying their members to this world with health and wealth nonsense. What are they going to do with all their health and wealth on the day when the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light and the stars will be falling? The health, wealth, and feel good positive thinking gospel is nothing more than a satanic diversion from the truth. If true revival is going to come to this earth, then there is only one message to be preached, and that is impending judgment. Any other message is diversion. How about you my brother or sister? Have you chosen to avoid such a hard subject? If we truly believe the Bible, than that is the one message we cannot ignore!

June 29

Today’s Reading - Amos 4 - 6

(Amos 6:1 KJV) Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

In today’s reading we come across this popular verse which is normally preached as trying to get Christians to get busy in the Lord’s work. There is much truth to this but it is found in the context of the coming judgment of Judah because of the sins of idolatry. What God is chiding Judah for is their incessant acceptance of the false religions of the surrounding nations. Amos is a book where God also reveals that He is going to judge the nations which have brought bad influence and false teachings into both Israel and Judah. Samaria and Israel thought they have been blessed of God and that their prosperity would continue. God pronounces a woe upon them which means that impending judgment is on the horizon. The lesson that we can gather from this verse is not only pointing to the church but to the individual Christian. Part of the ease that the Israelites partook of was the unabated intrusion of false religions into their land. Instead of fighting hard to keep the land pure from idolatry, they instead decided to lay back and allow the false religions to encroach on their homeland to the point that they began to accept the false religions along with the false gods. (Amos 5:26 KJV) But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. Chiun was the Egyptian name for Saturn. In Acts 7:43, when Stephen included this fact in his sermon, he was very close to the end of his life as those in attendance became wroth with him. Their problem is that killing the messenger did not erase the facts of history.

The lesson that we can glean from this verse is a warning to Christians that we should not be so lazy when it comes to checking out the truth of another teaching. Sometimes we hear a teaching and we just accept it because it sounds good. Being at ease is the best time for Satan to bring in his false gospels. The reason why many Christians are confused is because they are allowing the teachings from many different areas and religious persuasions to make it past their spiritual defenses. When your defenses are down, Satan gets free passage. It is like our computers, when a virus attempts to invade our computers, and our virus software is enabled and up to date, it will stop the virus before it infects the entire computer. If the file cannot be repaired, it can be quarantined and deleted. If our virus software is disabled, out of date, or we do not have any protection, then we are wide open for destruction. God expects His army to be diligent in rebuffing any false gospels before they enter the camp. He expects His soldiers to be aware of the surroundings and how Satan looks for any breach in the wall to sneak his false gospels in. If the guards are at ease, they will pass without any opposition but if the guards are doing their job and are standing watch, then there will be no entrance gained and the false gospel will be stopped at the gate. Church leaders must pay attention to their flocks when they speak so they can detect if there is any false teachings creeping into the church. Individual Christians must tie their belief system to the Bible, so they may detect any false gospels they may have been infected with. God expects us to be diligent in the war against false teachings. Let us not fail as ancient Israel and Judah did. If you are at ease, it is never too late to shake off the dust of false teachings and return to the truths of Scriptures as your foundation of beliefs. Unfortunately, sometimes we build our beliefs on commentaries or theological systems instead of the Scriptures themselves. Man will let you down, God will not!

June 30

Today’s Reading - Amos 7 - 9

(Amos 8:11-12 KJV) Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: {12} And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

As we end up the month of June we come across this verse which gives us an insight into the conditions which we are seeing right now. There seems to be many Christian programs on the radio, TV, Internet, Satellite, and whatever else media there is, yet we have many Christians who are confused as to what is the true gospel. As God was ready to bring judgment upon Judah for her many sins, He said that one of their punishments would be that they would be unable to hear the words of the Lord. When they were under the judgment of God, the word of the Lord would be scarce among them. The question is, how then does this apply to us today, since we have many Christian Bookstores available where we can purchase the Word of God. If we can’t find a bookstore, we can purchase a Bible on line. So how then is there a famine in the land today. Since 1901 there have been approximately 300 versions of the New Testament. Most of them have fallen into obscurity since they were of little value. Many Christians own multiple versions of the Bible. Yet, there seems like there is a famine of hearing the word. Why?

With every modern version of the Bible, they become more corrupt than the one before it. The “intellectual hit squads” keep removing, changing, adding, questioning portions of Scripture, resulting in the fact that Christians would have no idea what the word of God is since it changes every year with every new translation. The true word of God is being obscured and hidden in every new translation. Another reason we have a famine for the word of God is the attempt at homogenizing the Bible with worldly disciplines such as sociology and psychology. Look at the speaker line up of any conference center and you will see the majority of speakers are not preachers but Christian Psychologists or Psychotherapists. I put my spiritual antennas up when I see the word “Christian” used as an adjective instead of a noun. After listening to one of them, you come away more confused because your Spirit will not bear witness with a mix of Bible and Freud or Skinner. Mixing anything with the Word of God is spiritual adultery and the majority of the time you will get more psychology than Bible. This also creates a famine for the Word of God. Another reason we have a famine in the land is when Pastors in churches decide to preach the generic gospel, that is the one that pleases everyone. No judgment but love and peace for everyone. Then they die and go to Hell, so was it real love they were given?