When God Whispers - 1 Kings 19:9-15

"Then the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' ... Then He said, 'Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence.' At that moment, the Lord passed by...but the Lord was not in the wind...the Lord was not in the earthquake...the Lord was not in the fire... And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Suddenly, a voice came to him and said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' ' ... Then the Lord said to him, 'Go and return by the way you came to the Wilderness of Damascus.'"

I have unpacked the verses in this passage to illustrate a lesson that God is trying to teach the prophet Elijah. But first a little background information is needed.

Elijah had just confronted the 450 prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel. He had challenged them to build an altar and sacrifice a bull and call on their god to consume the sacrifice with fire.

And Elijah would do the same. But Elijah would ask God, Yahweh, to consume the sacrifice he had made.

Despite their raving--their loud shouts, wild dancing, and cutting themselves--nothing happened to the sacrifice of the prophets of Baal. However, God sent fire to consume the sacrifice Elijah had made and all the water that Elijah had poured over the sacrifice and the altar.

Life or Death? - Jeremiah 21:8-10

"This is what the Lord says: Look, I am presenting to you the way of life and the way of death. Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live and will retain his life like the spoils of war. For I have turned against this city to bring disaster and not good—this is the Lord’s declaration. It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, who will burn it down.

King Zedekiah of Judah was depending on Pharaoh Hophra of Egypt to defeat Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent one of his officials, Pashhur, and the priest, Zephaniah, to the prophet, Jeremiah, to ask him to foretell what the outcome of the Zedekiah's rebellion against Babylon would be.

King Zedekiah was hopeful that the Lord would perform wonderful works for Judah as He had done in the days of Hezekiah (see 2 Kings 18-19) and Jehoshaphat (see 2 Chronicles 20).

The phrase, "the way of life and the way of death," may be intended to call to mind Moses's challenge to the Israelites when they renewed the covenant with God before entering the promised land: "I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, love the Lord your God, obey Him, and remain faithful to Him" (Deuteronomy 30:19-20).

But Jeremiah puts a different spin on it! Jeremiah's challenge results in the opposite consequences from Moses's challenge.

The Secret of Happiness - Philippians 4:11-14

"I don't say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content--whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance, or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me."

In reference to their faithful financial support of his ministry, the Apostle Paul expressed his appreciation to the Philippians by making the well-known and oft-quoted declaration that he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him.

This assertion seems to be an unlikely way to tell the Philippians thank-you, because it doesn't acknowledge the financial support they gave Paul to conduct his ministry.

But, that's precisely Paul's point, I suppose. Read on and you will see what I mean.

Be Prepared - Ephesians 5:15-17

"Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is."

One of the recurring themes in my book, The Kingdom Order: Living for the Future in the Present, is that we should live our life in the present as though it is preparation for eternity. We must allow our hope for an eternal future to impact the way we live in our present reality.

The Apostle Paul reinforces this outlook on life by admonishing the Ephesians (and us) to make the most of the time we have on this earth. If our time is not used for good--for accomplishing God's will--then it can be used for evil.

According to Jesus, God's Kingdom is not an inaccessible place far away in the heavens but is close to where we live—it is near. God has approached us and announced that His Kingdom has entered the world where we now live.

The Perfect Way - 2 Samuel 22:31,33

"God--His way is perfect...He makes my way perfect."

Do you ever wonder if you are doing the right thing? If you are accomplishing God's will in your life?

2 Samuel 22 is a song of thanksgiving composed by King David. It is very similar to Psalm 18. So these two verses are also found in Psalm 18:30,32.

In these verses David reasons that God's ways are perfect and by following God's own way it makes his own way perfect.

David declares that God illuminates the way he should follow and God also enables David to follow in His way.

Quality of Life Checklist - Ephesians 1:3-14

There is a quality of life that Christians enjoy that results from being a believer and follower of Jesus.

The Apostle Paul expounds on the spiritual blessings that God supplies His people in the opening chapter and verses of the book of Ephesians.

These verses are formed from one long sentence in the Greek. So I have organized them into a checklist that enumerates the various spiritual blessings God supplies to every Christian as mentioned in these verses.

Use my checklist to perform a spiritual checkup to determine the quality of your spiritual life:

God's "Yes" Man - 2 Corinthians 1:19-22

"For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us—by me and Silvanus and Timothy—did not become 'Yes and no'; on the contrary, a final 'Yes' has come in Him. For every one of God’s promises is 'Yes' in Him. Therefore, the 'Amen' is also spoken through Him by us for God’s glory. Now it is God who strengthens us, with you, in Christ and has anointed us. He has also sealed us and given us the Spirit as a down payment in our hearts."

Do you ever get down and depressed because you feel like you've got so much to handle and you just can't do it all?

And then you get all locked up inside and you don't do anything. I call it "gridlock of the soul." Why even try, you wonder.

It seems like life is saying to you, "No you can't. No you can't. No, no, no!"

When life keeps telling you "No," there is something you can do to escape soul gridlock.