Sunday, May 21, 2017

PEOPLE IN CRISIS

Today’s Reading: 2 Kings 17

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).

 

Dan is described as the northernmost city of the Kingdom of Israel. The children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem. The Danites, finding their inheritance too small, decided to enlarge its boundaries by the sword; and, having conquered Leshem (Laish), they planted a colony there, calling the new settlement by the name of Dan. Seen here is one of the remaining walls of the ancient city of Dan and the Scripture cut into the metal is Joshua 19:47.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.

 

Key Verse: 2 Kings 17:18

Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel, and removed them from His sight; there was none left but the tribe of Judah alone.

God gave the 10 tribes of the north every opportunity to repent. He sent mighty prophets like Elijah and Elisha, but the leaders and the majority of the people did not listen and change their ways. God does not always strive with us. However, He does seek to move us to Himself in a variety of ways. If we do not respond, the time comes when God must put the emphasis on righteousness and His holy nature must eventually seek justice and judgment. Genesis 6:3 tells us that God said, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man forever.” The Apostle Peter picks up this theme of Noah and God’s judgment in 1 Peter 3:18-22 and 4:1-8. Our salvation is secure in Christ! But in the north of Israel, those who were following God closely were swept up in the destruction and relocation actions of the Assyrian King. War and destruction is happening in our time. It is absolutely essential that we seek to be salt and light in our entire country, as well as the whole world.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord Jesus, I thank You for Your ministry to the people who lived in the north such as the Samaritans who descended from those who were relocated there by the Assyrian king. You care about people everywhere! I pray that I will love and seek to bless all people everywhere in every way I can. Most of all, Lord, may I witness to Your Salvation and may I support world missions in a generous and sacrificial way. In Your Name I pray, Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

There are Christian missions all over the world. Brian Stewart, for many years the senior foreign correspondent for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, tells of his camera operator somewhere in Africa saying approximately, “I wish that just once we could go to a remote place where a missionary does not walk out of the jungle to greet us.” This witness brought Brian back to his childhood faith which he had set aside during his university years. Countries such as South Korea have become powerful missionary-sending countries. It is impossible to follow Jesus closely without caring deeply about world missions.

Yours for living right in God’s sight, sharing God’s love, and teaching in word and deed the person of Jesus Christ,

David

3 thoughts on “Sunday, May 21, 2017

  1. I never quite understood who the Samaritans were, or why the Jews hated them… This chapter tells us where they came from:
    “The king of Assyria transported groups of people from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and resettled them in the towns of Samaria, replacing the people of Israel.” (verse 24)

    The people of Israel and Judah blamed others instead of accepting responsibility for their own sin and the repercussions of that.

    Please help us, Lord, to take responsibility for our own sins; to realize that You, Lord God, are the only One who is pure and sinless. Please forgive us for our sins and help us to look to You. You provided the Way for us to be forgiven, in the person of Your Son Jesus Christ, who lived the only sinless Life on earth, and took our sins on Himself and died in our place. Thank You that You, dear Jesus, because of Your sinless Life, defeated death and live today and forever, so we can know You. Thank You for sending Your Holy Spirit, to comfort, teach, and strengthen us for living the life You, Lord God, planned for us.

    Please help us to be thankful and joyful sons and daughters of You, the living God. Open the doors for Your Word to go out to all the world in the power of Your Spirit, so all may know You and give their lives freely to You. Give us boldness and love and wisdom and the provisions we need to do Your will while we are here, and please help us not to squander Your gifts, but use them to honour You. Please bless all Your servants, Lord.
    In Jesus’s forever-great name, amen

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