Have you turned something good into an idol?

 17 May 26

Today's devotional: taken from YouVersion, Devotions on F.I.R.E. Year One

Readings:

2 Kings 18

2 Kings 19

John 6:22-44

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up (John 3:14).

Have you turned something good into an idol?

God had used a bronze serpent for the Israelites bitten by snakes to look upon to be healed (Numbers 21:4-9). Centuries later, they twisted the original use of the bronze serpent and turned it into an idol. The writer of 2 Kings explains that Hezekiah “broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan” (2 Kings 18:4).

Christians are admonished by Paul how to prevent themselves from the practice of covetousness, which he equates with idolatry. He writes, “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5).

Employment Point: Keep Jesus on the throne of your heart by executing the deeds of the flesh.

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Reflections

“He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)”

‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• The Lord has used the bronze snake for good but the people mistook it for an item of worship when everyone should be worshipping only the Lord. So Hezekiah did right by destroying the bronze snake that was leading people astray when they were only meant to remember how the Lord used it to heal them. 
• I feel it may not be an item. Sometimes it is a person even, that the Lord used to minister to us. We ended up making the item or person like an idol. Something even dearer than the Lord. God forbid!!

“Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.”

‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭5‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• This is one of the verses that also actually proves that if we keep God’s commandments, the Lord will too, be with us and will be successful in whatever we undertake to do (albeit with answering the Lord’s calling of course).

“This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’”2 Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭29‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• Sometimes we can also be swayed by other’s opinions that things are not what we were told or believed in. In times of difficulties especially, our faith is being challenged. Chose to trust in the Lord, even if we don’t see any light. God’s hands are always there for us, we just need to continue seeking him even through darkness. Its like the case of blind men, they trust when someone is leading them. We too should have the faith the like of blind men to trust God who is leading us
• We too should remember that there is only God who can provide us with streams of living water and manna for food.

“Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?”

‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• I love it when people talk like that about the Lord, for I know our Lord will show them who is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. In a more Singlish term “never die before.” How dare he talk to our Lord God in this manner. And how can he compare our Lord to the other gods of other nations?!! Who are they who are only made by hand to be even worth comparing to our Lord who creates the heaven and the earth! 

“Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.”

‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭19‬:‭14‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• this is great learning point for me. Even when Hezekiah is being threatened, he has no fear. The first person he seeks is the Lord and he asked Him for directions and deliverance from evil. 
• We see what great faith Hezekiah has for the Lord as well. He saw how the other nations were conquered by the king of Assyria. He knew the Lord and has obeyed His commands and also knows that the Lord is always near. He who will never leave not forsake him. Hezekiah has complete trust in the Lord.

“I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.’ ” That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!”

‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭19‬:‭34‬-‭35‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• Quite in a literal sense-pride comes before a fall! No man needs to even lift a finger to fight. Our Lord our God, has the power to save or deliver. In a single night, 185000 men died in the Assyrian camp. Who else but the Lord, that is able to deliver His people from evil and from harm?!

“Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.””

‭‭John‬ ‭6‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• the Lord seems to be saying that people are looking for Him because He can provide. But He urges the people not to focus on such provisions but to look up to Jesus for spiritual food that leads to eternal life.
• Quite similar I guess in a way where the Samaritan woman is drawing water from the well and will grow thirsty again but if she drinks the spiritual water, she will never thirst again.

“Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.””John‬ ‭6‬:‭28‬-‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• this is straightforward. We are asked to believe in Jesus and of course whatever He told us.

“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.”

‭‭John‬ ‭6‬:‭38‬ ‭NIV‬‬

• we are to learn from Jesus. And if He teaches us to do Thy will and it is thy will we ought to do and not our own will. A strict and yet simple obedient to the Lord and His word. No doubts and no other word.

This devotional seems to be saying to have Jesus sit in our hearts quite literally so that we will be super mindful of all our thoughts, words and actions. Because it would be like He is watching our every move. 

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His Ascension and Our Union

BY OSWALD CHAMBERS

May 17

While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.— Luke 24:51

We cannot relate to the events in our Lord’s life after the transfiguration. Until that moment, Jesus led a life we can recognize: the normal, if perfect, life of a man. From the transfiguration onward— Gethsemane, the cross, the resurrection, and the ascension—everything in our Lord’s life is unfamiliar to us. The cross is the doorway through which every member of humanity can enter into the life of God. Through the resurrection, our Lord has the right to give eternal life to all. By the ascension, our Lord enters heaven and keeps the door open for humanity.

“After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John . . . and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them” (Matthew 17:1–2). After the transfiguration, Jesus remained on earth. If he’d gone to heaven immediately, he would have gone alone as a glorious figure, but not as a savior. Instead, he turned his back on glory and came down from the mountain to identify himself with fallen humanity.

“He left them and was taken up into heaven” (Luke 24:51). The ascension completed the transfiguration. Our Lord returned to his original place of glory, but he didn’t return simply as the Son of God. He returned also as the Son of Man. Because he did, all of humanity now has free access to the throne of God. As Son of Man, Jesus Christ deliberately limited his divine omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. Now, in his glory, they are his in absolute power. Sitting at the throne of God, Jesus Christ, as Son of Man, has all power. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords from the day of his ascension until now.

1 Chronicles 1-3; John 5:25-47

WISDOM FROM OSWALD

The great point of Abraham’s faith in God was that he was prepared to do anything for God.

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Reflections

Just the Thursday that passed was Ascension Day, which occurs exactly 40 days after Easter Sunday to celebrate the bodily ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven.

Ascension was prove that our Lord Jesus came as man, even though He was divine, lived His full life as man and died as man. The power of God was on Him, giving Him the power to conquer death, and to raise the dead. People were jeering before His death, telling Him to free himself if he was truly the son of God. Well, He did but not in the manner humans think. 

Jesus was freed from death. He conquered it and is victorious, when He was raised from the dead three days after he was crucified. Witnesses confirmed he was dead. The flowing of blood and water from his body was scientific prove that he is already dead. Once the heart stops pumping and circulation ceases, the blood and the separated watery fluids settle in these body cavities. For medical professionals and forensic pathologists, this separation and flow confirm that circulation has completely stopped, which serves as a physiological indicator that a person is already dead. (More reading here: https://www.gotquestions.org/blood-water-Jesus.html)

Yet, His body was not found three days later. The rock was moved, the linen on his body was neatly folded where his body once lay and witnesses from different places at the same time, bore witness that they saw Him. His own disciples, touched and saw Him eat. Thomas personally testified that Jesus was real. He went from a person who is fully man to a person who is fully man and fully God, before he ascended into heaven.

He is the only person who truly saved himself from death and proved that he is the son of God, being King of the Jews. His death and sacrifice, also opened the door for our direct access to God our Father, for we are now known as co-heirs with Christ. His blood cleansed us and renewed us, giving us a fresh place to start our new life, with Him holding our hands.

Let’s pray:

Father we are forever grateful for the love and the sacrifice of Your dear son Jesus Son, who died for us. Thank You for making us new and cleansing away our sins, taking away all our unrighteousness and giving us a fresh start of our lives. Thank You for protecting us and guarding our hearts against evil and for holding our hands when we get stuck in fear, grief, anger, etc. Thank You for this love that we can never repay and the love and peace You have filled our hearts with. All praise and thanks be to You O Lord. In Jesus’s name we ask and pray. Amen 🙏🏻