FOUR GENERATIONS

Suggested Reading: 2 Kings 22

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

Facing the Mount of Olives on the eastern side of the Old City of Jerusalem is The Golden Gate, also called The Eastern Gate. The Bible indicates that Jesus passed through this gate many times while He was in Jerusalem. Jewish religious tradition teaches that the coming Messiah will enter Jerusalem through this gate. To prevent this, the Muslims sealed the gate in 1541 A.D. during the rule of Suleiman. Like the walls around Jerusalem which were built for protection, may we build around our families the protection of the teaching of the things of God.

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

Key Verse: 2 Kings 22:11

Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the book of the law, that he tore his clothes.

In our reading two days ago, King Hezekiah tore his clothes to show his strong grief. Now Hezekiah’s great-grandson, Josiah, 18 years old, tears his clothes to show his extreme grief because his father, Amon, and his grandfather, Manasseh, had utterly failed to serve the God of the Book, and Judah had, for 57 years, reverted to the practice of false religions. How could this be? Isaiah, such a mighty man of God, had taught and preached over four generations of Kings from Uzziah to Hezekiah. Hezekiah’s son and grandson led the people away from the true and living God, living evil lives. Does this not prove that we are only one or two generations away at any time from the demise of the Church? If we fail to reach the next generation for Christ, a terrible turning away from God happens. Do we do our part with a passion in teaching Sunday School, in mentoring young people, in strong intercessory prayer for the next generation? Do our church services include strong Bible teaching which is contained in the Hymns and songs as well as the sermons? Do we succeed in communicating thoroughly the things of God? We should read again how this is to be done for the eternal good of the next generation…Deuteronomy 6:1-25.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, keep me within the sound of Your Word. I need to hear Your thoughts every day without fail. I pray also that I will be enthusiastic in communicating Your Word to others, particularly to the next generation after me. Please give me wisdom in how I am to do this. I’m here Lord, please use me for Your great cause. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

Last evening I visited with my great-grandson, Myles Neilson. I put my arms around Myles, when he slowed down a bit (he loves his great-grandpa), and I shared a story of God’s wonderful love to him. How thankful I am that, unlike Josiah’s father and grandfather, his parents, Sheryl and Todd Neilson, and his grandparents, the Staceys, love and serve the Lord. Below is a photo of Myles with me that we took in the park next to his home. As the pictures were taken by his Mom, I was sharing the amazing story of the boy king, Josiah.

I’ve been doing this blog for almost a year now, and those who’ve been with me since the beginning will now be almost half-way through the entire Bible, moving back and forth between the Testaments. I trust that no one who participates with me is finding the blog boring or that it has become just another duty. I’m praying fervently every day that the experience will be alive, life giving, and life changing! May the Word of God always be a mirror in which we see ourselves as we really are; a Sword which will cut away those things which weigh us down in our service to God; a Light to guide us into God’s will, keeping us faithful in the way of Truth.

For new visitors to this site, you can start today and in just 24 months you’ll have made the entire Bible part of yourself. Great goal!

Yours for God speaking to us every day through His Word to His human family,

David

My five-year-old great-grandson, Myles Neilson with me, taken last night.

A MIRACLE AND A POULTICE

Suggested Reading: 2 Kings 20-21

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

These ruins are located about 100 metres south of Hezekiah's Tunnel. In the summer of 2004, these remains, of a very large pool covering three-quarters of an acre, from the Second Temple period, were discovered. It proved to be the Pool of Siloam. Nearby, archaeologists uncovered the remains of a stepped street (photo at bottom of page), the path taken by pilgrims ascending from the pool to the Temple Mount. Beneath the paving stones of the street they found a drainage channel that apparently served as a hiding place for the last Jewish rebels against the Romans in the year 70 AD. The pool ceased to function after the destruction of Jerusalem and, over time, filled with earth and disappeared from sight.

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

Key Verse: 2 Kings 20:4b-5

The Word of the Lord came to him saying, “Return and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people,Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father; I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you.”

God added 15 more years to Hezekiah’s life by a combination of divine healing and medicine. Isaiah prescribed a poultice, which was to be placed on Hezekiah’s boil in order to draw out the poison that was in his system. God works in our time also through this combination of prayer along with the best medical care, with which we are blessed. God hears and answers prayer! Just as God heard Hezikiah’s prayers for deliverance from the Assyrians, in today’s reading God hears and answers prayer for physical healing. Do we have need for God’s intervention? Yes! Yes! God will hear and answer our fervent prayers. That does not mean that God will always do just as we ask; He knows better than we do. Our faith is best expressed in obedience to do as He has told us. We pray, believe him for His perfect will, and the rest is up to Him. Pray! Obey! Read James 5:13-18. Then God will do what God will do!

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I pray for others (name them) and for myself as Hezekiah prayed, “Remember now, O Lord, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what was good in Your sight.” Thank You, Lord, that You are hearing my prayer. I know Your decisions are on the way. In Jesus’ Name. Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I know from personal experience that God hears and answers prayer. As a result of God’s healing power, combined with the medical skills of the doctors and nurses, He has already added 58 more years to my life than the doctors predicted when I was 19 years old. The students in the Bible College in Peterborough, Ontario went into a time of fervent prayer on my behalf, and two of the ministers/teachers anointed me with oil, laid hands on my head, and prayed in the Name of Jesus for my healing. God heard and said, “Yes!” The doctors then did surgery to correct the problem which had caused my illness in the first place. As I’ve mentioned before in my blog, I was diagnosed over a year ago with acute MDS Leukemia. Thanks to the many who have prayed for me, and for those who have been obedient to the instructions found in James 5. I’m in treatment with an excellent hematologist/oncologist M.D. and also taking the best nutritional advice from a Doctor of Natural Medicine. I’m trusting God for healing. After Jesus spoke healing into the ten lepers, he sent them to the priests at the Temple who functioned as the medical experts of that day to confirm their healing (Luke 17:11-19). They were healed, not immediately, but as they were obediently on their way to show themselves to the priests. I believe God for healing, and I’m obeying His instructions. The Juravinski Cancer Centre nurses take lots of blood samples, and chemo is being applied (like the poultice in 2 Kings 20:7). God is in charge of it all! Amen!

Yours for healing now and for all eternity, where perfect well-being awaits those who trust in Jesus’ great Salvation through His suffering and death on the Cross, confidently trusting the Word of God spoken through the prophet Isaiah and recorded in Isaiah 53:6, “…by His stripes we are healed” (click here for the teaching which Isaiah obviously gave to Hezekiah),

David

This is the bottom end of the stepped road and drainage channel, known as the Path of Pilgrims. In this area was a stone-paved plaza from the Second Temple period that served as a promenade for visitors to the Pool of Siloam. The promenade's roof was supported by a row of stone columns, parts of which have been found at the site.

HEZEKIAH PRAYED

Suggested Reading: 2 Kings 19

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

This photo was taken near the top-end of Hezekiah's Tunnel, or the Siloam Tunnel. It is a tunnel that was dug underneath the City of David in Jerusalem in ancient times. It dates from the reign of Hezekiah of Judah (late 8th and early 7th century BC) and corresponds to the waterworks mentioned in 2 Kings 20:20. The tunnel, leading from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam, was designed as an aqueduct to provide Jerusalem with water during an impending siege by the Assyrians, led by Sennacherib.

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

Key Verse: 2 Kings 19:19

Now Therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, I’ve heard Your call. You have said, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” I respond with those powerful words, “Here am I! Send me.” I pray this in Jesus’ Name! Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I was about to turn 17 when I attended Lakeshore Pentecostal Youth Camp for a week. It was there at the altar in the tabernacle that I prayed approximately this prayer with all my heart, “Lord Jesus, I want to serve You fully in Your great cause. Please Lord, do me the great favour of calling me with a definite call so that I will know You have called me, and so that I will never turn back from serving You.” He gave me an unmistakable call almost immediately when the Youth Evangelist came to where I was kneeling in the middle of hundreds of other teens and said, with authority in his voice, “You are called into the Ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ!” I’ve never doubted that call for even one minute for the past 60 years.

In reference to today’s reading, my English teacher in high school had us memorize the poem “The Destruction of Sennacherib,” by Lord Byron. I remember it to this day… “The Assyrian came down like a wolf on the fold, and his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold….” Lord Byron was a student of Holy Scripture (click here for the entire poem).

Yours for God’s call on our lives,

David

P.S. It’s now 5:42 a.m. In 12 days we’ll be half-way through the entire Bible. If you have just started reading with me, in 104 weeks you’ll finish the entire Bible, moving from the Hebrew Scriptures to the Greek, the Old Testament to the New, alternating between the two. Please tell others about this blog and encourage them from time to time to stick with it throughout the entirety of the Bible.

Up until 2004 this exit from Hezekiah's Tunnel was thought to be at the Pool of Siloam. However, you will see in tomorrow's 100words blog photo that the recent discovery, just 100 metres to the south, was in fact the Pool of Siloam. That is where Jesus, in John 9:7, after spitting in the dirt and putting it on a blind man's eyes, told him to wash in the pool of Siloam, and the man was healed.

GOOD DECISIONS

Suggested Reading: 2 Kings 18

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

Hezekiah's capital city...Jerusalem. This present-day photo is a northeast view looking toward the Temple Mount area.

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

Key Verse: 2 Kings 18:5

“He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any who were before him.”

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God, please hear my prayer when I ask for Your help in making the right decisions for my life and for my testimony to others. Thank You that I can change from the past, moving into a glorious future because of Jesus, Your Son and my Saviour and Lord, in whose Name I pray, Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

Two days ago the life of Elijah Harper was celebrated in a memorial service in Winnipeg. Elijah was a First Nations leader who made great decisions. As the son of a Pastor in Red Sucker Lake, Manitoba, Elijah gave his life to Christ. I had the honour of ministering there for a week with his dad, Rev. Allan B. Harper.

As a Manitoba Member of the Legislature, and a Cabinet Member, Elijah stopped what is known as the Meech Lake Accord, an effort to bring Quebec into the Canadian Constitution, because of the failure to recognize the fact that God put the native people on this land long before the Europeans arrived. He took this fame and called, “The Sacred Assembly,” a prayer gathering in Canada’s capital city of Ottawa which was attended by the Prime Minister at the time, the Rt. Hon. Jean Chretien. This event began the movement which eventually resulted in the present Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper, asking, on behalf of the government of Canada and its people, for the forgiveness of the Aboriginal Peoples for all the injustices they had suffered. Elijah had gone on to become a Liberal party member of the Canadian Parliament for Churchill, but at the time of the apology was once again a private citizen. He spotted Norma-Jean and me sitting near him in the balcony of the House of Commons as the Prime Minister, with the approval of all the Members, asked forgiveness. As soon as adjournment was announced, Elijah rushed over to us, taking me by the hand with a strong grip, and leading us down to the floor of the House of Commons and then to the bench in front of the Speaker’s Chair. He pulled me down to my knees with him and began to pray with a loud voice approximately the following: “I declare that this bench is Your Altar, Lord God. Please Lord Jesus, receive this act of repentance by the Prime Minister, the Government and this House of Commons.” I was weeping profusely.

Over the years I spent much time with Elijah. He’s visited in our home, and I’ve visited in his home in Ottawa. Thank you, Elijah, for being a man of the stature of King Hezekiah. You have changed Canada! By the grace of The Great Creator, I expect to see you again soon.

Yours for God-inspired decisions which make positive changes in our lives and in the lives of others,

David

P.S. Here’s a clip from yesterday’s 100 Huntley Street program where my son Ron interviewed me about the passing of Elijah Harper. It includes a clip of Elijah addressing the Sacred Assembly in 1995, as well as a portion of Prime Minister Harper’s apology in 2008.

PEOPLE IN CRISIS

Suggested 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.

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 lost 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.

Crossroads.ca/missions will reveal that God is using the ministry, which is sponsoring my blog, in effective ways for His cause, and that Crossroads Missions is worthy of our support in prayer, in giving, and in going. My book, “This Far by Faith,” is going to the printers this week and will be available through Crossroads throughout June. In it I tell some of the missions stories that have moved me deeply. Some outreaches have impacted my own family directly, such as the outreach to the orphans of Russia. Check the story of two precious grandchildren who came into our family as a result of my daughter Elaine and a camera crew reporting for 100 Huntley Street in Leningrad/St. Petersburg (click here for a video report of their adoption story).

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

David

RELIGION AND TRUTH

Suggested Reading: 2 Kings 15-16

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

In Rome stands a national monument known as the Altar of the Fatherland, honouring Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy. It is a very impressive sight to see. As in today's reading, the kings of history come and go, but not the King of Kings. He remains forever!

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

Key Verse: 2 Kings 16:14

He also brought the bronze altar which was before the Lord, from the front of the temple–from between the new altar and the house of the Lord–and put it on the north side of the new altar.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord Jesus, I pray for a daily illumination of truth from the Scriptures I am reading. Grant me that I may always find Your Person revealed clearly to my understanding. Keep me true to You in my thoughts, words, and deeds. In Your Name I ask these mercies, Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I mentioned yesterday that I would tell the story of what happened to my Arab son-in-law, Nizar Shaheen, in Gath Hepher, modern day Mishad, the ancestral home of the prophet Jonah. Today, it is a Muslim village, located between Nazareth and Cana.

Nizar’s brothers are stone masons from Cana and are much in demand. Nizar was a student at the University of Haifa while his oldest brother had the contract to build a new mosque in Mishad. While helping his brother, Nizar fell from the top of the mosque and should’ve been killed. He said that he felt that he was being turned as he fell, by unseen hands. He landed on his hands and feet in the only place on the ground which was clear of stones and pieces of steel bars. His brothers loaded him in the back seat of their car and rushed him to the hospital in Nazareth. As he went he says that he heard a voice speaking to him saying, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name, you are Mine.” He was unaware at the time that these were words from Isaiah 43:1. This was one of the major factors in Nizar’s decision to become a believer in Jesus Christ.

Check out the ministry of “Light for all Nations.” Nizar and his wife, my daughter Ellen and their team, are reaching the entire Arabic-speaking world with the message of Jesus (click here).

Yours for following Jesus more closely than ever,

David

Inside Rome's Altar of the Fatherland is another altar that appears to be a small walk-by chapel.

BONES

Suggested Reading: 2 Kings 13-14

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

Perhaps it was a tomb not unlike the one above in which Elisha was buried. In this photo you can see the Tomb of the Sons of Hezir and the Tomb of Zechariah on the right.

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

Key Verse: 2 Kings 13:21

So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord Jesus, I pray for Your consistency to be strong in me. This is a two-year journey which may well be the most important two years of my life. I’m counting on Your indwelling Presence to keep me true. In Your all-powerful Name, Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

I should point out that no ministry funds are used for trips such as the one depicted below with Ron and Ann in Petra (the Biblical Selah mentioned in today’s reading). In yesterday’s blog I put pictures of the backpacking trip around Israel with my 14 and 16 year old sons. Norma-Jean would meet us from time to time with food and fresh underwear (too much information). She borrowed a Volkswagen van from our friends, Jay and Meridel Rawlings, who lived in Haifa. We saved for some time to be able to go on that trip. It’s worth every cent we paid and more.

In today’s reading I noticed that Jonah was from Gath Hepher. This is not the “Gath” of the Philistines from which Goliath came. This place is located between Cana of Galilee and Nazareth. It’s now called Mishad. This is the village which figures prominently in the conversion of my Arab son-in-law. I’m well over my 100 words in this segment. I’ll try to remember to tell the story tomorrow, God willing, of how God saved Nizar’s life in the ancestral hometown of Jonah.

Yours for consistency and integrity,

David

OSKAR

Suggested Reading: 2 Kings 11-12

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

The Grave of Oskar Schindler is in Jerusalem just south of the Zion Gate on the south side of the Old City wall. Stones are placed on the graves by visitors and loved ones.

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

Key Verse: 2 Kings 12:2

Jehoash did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days in which Jehoiada the priest instructed him.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord Jesus, Your servant and apostle tells us, “First of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Timothy 2:1-2). That’s a tall order, Lord. It’s easy to pray every day for those I like, but I have a problem with some leaders. I know that these instructions are not optional. I am to love everyone! Therefore, I pray for a large dose of Your love and grace to fill my life 24/7. In Your all loving Name, Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

My granddaughter, Sarah Shaheen Stowell, who is on her fathers side Arab Israeli, called in to the Michael Coren show live prime time on CTS. She was 17 at the time and had just moved from Jerusalem to Canada. She told Michael, his guests and his viewers that as a Christian she had just moved to Canada from Israel and that she knew that she should love all people, Jews included, but that it was hard to do that. Michael said that hers was the most intelligent call he received throughout the show. When I told him that was my granddaughter, he made the effort to visit her in her new home here in Burlington.

Today’s pictures tell the unusual story of Oskar Schindler, who saved the lives of many Jews during the Nazi reign of terror. His body was brought to Jerusalem and buried in a Christian graveyard on the side of Mt. Zion. Every year, on the anniversary of his death, the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of those whose lives he saved gather at his grave for a memorial service to honour Oskar. As is the Jewish custom, they each place a stone in his memory. I’ve stood at his graveside several times, and thanked God for people who are willing to risk their lives for others.

Yours for loving others, even if it’s extremely hard to do that with some. Why? Because Jesus told us that if we are to please God we must do this, whether we like it or not! Check out Mark 12:28-34.

David

The entrance to the Christian graveyard where Oskar Schindler's body lies.

JEHU

Suggested Reading: 2 Kings 10

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

On display at the Archaeological Museum of ancient Corinth in Greece is a gold ring and many other artifacts. As far as we know, there are no golden calves, as in today's reading.

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

Key Verse: 2 Kings 10:29

However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from the golden calves that were at Bethel and Dan.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord God I decide for You 100%. May I be granted grace, intelligence, and a heart that is true to You in all things. I pray that I will put out of my life all idols, those things that take priority ahead of You. I realize that to worship is to ascribe worth to someone or something. I worship You Lord God, all else fades away in the focus of my life on You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

In the late seventies I took my sons out of high school for the month of March and we back-packed throughout Israel. However, when we arrived at Vered Hagalil, a dude ranch just above the Mount of Beatitudes north of the Sea of Galilee, we rented horses for a day and rode across the hillsides and back for 20 miles or so. By the time we arrived at the northern stretch of the river Jordan I realized that while I was doing fine walking and carrying a large back pack, I was not in shape for long periods in the saddle. I was very sore on a certain part of my anatomy! I remember jumping into the river, clothes and all, propping my feet against a fallen tree trunk and lying upstream into the current. The fast flowing waters of the Jordan provided the best and most refreshing massage imaginable. When my spiritual muscles and joints are tired and sore, I picture myself doing the same as I lie back into the river of prayer and worship. It’s amazing how refreshed I am after doing this. I’m ready to mount up and go again.

Yours for the refreshing streams of God’s presence,

David

P.S. Below are pictures from our backpack & horseback trek across Israel, including the northern Galilee region and the rushing Jordan River.

My sons Reynold & Ron with me backpacking around Israel in 1978.

Riding across the hills north of the Sea of Galilee. Reynold (left) was 16 and Ron (right) was 14.

Me lying upsream in the Jordan having a blessed massage that I needed after a long horseback ride.

My boys next to a rushing Jordan River in Northern Israel.

THE WRONG PATH

Suggested Reading: 2 Kings 9

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

Southeast of Haifa lies Mount Carmel. As you stand on its peak, below you can see the fertile plains of the Jezreel Valley which, during the course of 7,000 years, has seen countless battles. The Book of Revelation identifies this spot as the place where the final battle of Armageddon will be fought. It was on Mount Carmel that Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal.

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

Key Verse: 2 Kings 9:6

Then he arose and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel…’”

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Lord Jesus, thank You for setting such an example for me. You demonstrated that as a human being, not using Your divine nature to help Yourself, I too can “do the things that please Him.” I ask that I will be given daily grace to remain always faithful to You. Because of Your indwelling presence, I live with confidence in Your keeping power. May the smile of Your approval be upon me. In Your Name I pray, Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

From my earliest memories hearing or reading the children’s Bible stories, I saw Jehu as a hero. Those stories would gloss over the worst parts. Jehu driving his chariot “furiously” was an exciting mental picture for me. I could imagine myself driving a chariot like that. Then there was the death of Jezebel and the dogs attacking the remains of this exceedingly wicked woman. I may have been older when I remember thinking that this was justice because of her crimes against humanity. Around this time I also remember seeing the body of the Italian dictator, Mussolini, near the close of World War II, hanging from a balcony in a central city square. It was justice, people said. I understood from Scripture that all of us “reap what we have sown.” A New Testament reading I’ve just looked up is Galatians 6:7-10. Those verses speak to me of reaping good things also. This “good” reaping will continue into eternity in Heaven as I stand at the judgement seat of Christ, where believers are judged according to their works and eternal rewards are given or withheld (see 2 Corinthians 5:6-10).

Yours for laying up treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-21),

David

The statue of Elijah at the Carmelite Monastery on Mount Carmel reflects the Lord's victory over the prophets of Baal. Shortly afterward, fire came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifice, the altar, and even the water.