A Word From God

 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn't there another prophet through whom we can consult the Lord?” (2 Chronicles 18:6) 

Jehoshaphat the King of Israel was a righteous man who feared God but he made and allegiance with the King of Israel Ahab the enemy of God. Ahab persuaded Jehoshaphat to join him in battle with his enemies and they were defeated and Ahab died. 

But they were warned by the prophet of God not to go but they went anyway, why? Ahab had many false prophets and Jehoshaphat observed this and called for "a prophet of the Lord." When Micaiah the prophet came he spoke Gods words clearly and the message was clear. Both Jehoshaphat and Ahab rejected this counsel and went anyway to both their tragedy.

What can we learn from this?

Jehoshaphat was married to Ahab's family so he was enticed to join the enemies of God. They rejected the clear word of God and received the consequences at their own choosing not God's. God was exremely merciful with Jehoshaphat. Although the king allied with Ahab and rejected the word of God God still saved him and sustained Him in His later rulership.

What a wonderful picture of God God is always for us and His love is always towards us. In our weakness and bad decisions God is always faithful.

Promise

"The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me;

unto Him ye shall hearken." Deut. 18: 15. See also verse 18.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ

^25-28 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God while the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, big enough to shake the foundations of the prison. Immediately all the doors flew open and everyone’s chains were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the doors of the prison had been opened he drew his sword and was on the point of killing himself, for he imagined that all the prisoners had escaped. But Paul called out to him at the top of his voice, “Don’t hurt yourself—we are all here!”

²⁹ Then the jailer called for lights, rushed in, and trembling all over, fell at the feet of Paul and Silas.

³⁰ He led them outside, and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹ And they replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and then you will be saved, you and your household.”

^32-34 Then they told him and all the members of his household the message of God. There and then in the middle of the night he took them aside and washed their wounds and he himself and all his family were baptised without delay. Then he took them into his house and offered them food, he and his whole household overjoyed at finding faith in God. (Acts 16;25-34 J.B.Philips)

The account of Paul and Silas’s deliverance at midnight brings comfort to many tried and tested saints. Often for our faith we are throw is hard places. They stood fearlessly against the spirit of divination and found themselves falsely accused and imprisoned. But all things work together for good. God brought them out of jail and also through it brought the jailer to Jesus. How often we cannot see past the present dangers but the eye of faith sees God’s omnipotent hand a the wheel controlling events for our eternal good.

Why not trust God today?

 

Never Stay on the Fence

There was a large group of people gathered. On one side of the group stood a man, Jesus. On the other side stood another, Satan. Seperating them was a fence running through the group. The scene set, both Jesus and Satan began calling to people in the group. One by one, each having made up his or her own mind, went to either Jesus or Satan. This kept going for a time. Soon enough, Jesus had gathered around him a group of people from the larger crowd, as did Satan.

One man joined neither group. He climbed the fence that was there and sat on it. Jesus and his people left and disappeared, and so too did Satan and his people. The man on the fence sat alone. As this man sat, Satan came back, looking for something which he appeared to have lost. The man said, "Have you lost something?" Satan looked straight at him and replied, "No, there you are. Come with me." The man said, "But I sat on the fence. I chose neither you nor him." Satan said, "That's okay; I own the fence."

"Whoever is not with me is against me." - Jesus in Matthew 12:30