June 20--The Heads Up You Can Turn Down

It's tempting to ignore the wake up calls that come, but doing so can land you in the ditch.  I've been there, and I don't want to go back, so I'm paying close attention to today's passages:  1 Kings 22, Acts 13:13-43, Psalm 138, Proverbs 17:15-16.

Click here for the written post of today's episode.

Eve reads her Bible journal aloud on this episode.

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Transcript

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June twenty. The heads up you can turn down. I won't be reading the scripture references. For those, please check the written post. At the beginning, sends not the shriveled hag with a hump back you discover it is later. In fact, it looks a lot more like joy and beauty, like innocence. Oh here's the lucky charm I've been looking for, you think to yourself. Here's my ticket to the sweet life. The allure is hard to resist. Impossible really unless you do the brutal work of telling on yourself and offering this thing up. Best to burn it clean and quick on the altar of your heart. Best to turn and be done before it burns you up. But I didn't choose brutal or best. I fell whole hog into sin some years ago, and I'm still suffering the consequences. The saddest part for me now is that there were red flags all over it. I should have seen them. I could have walked away. But I ignored my rationalizing, my breathlessness, my prayerlessness. I lost touch with my besties because I didn't tell them what was going on. I preferred darkness to light. That's the thing about sin. It isolates you from those who love you, including God who loves you most. It tells you the lies you want to hear, and you believe them. And here's the thing about sin and God. He doesn't force you to listen or to pay attention or to stop what you're doing. He lets you live with the consequences of your foolishness until you're absolutely sick of them. And when you're ready to turn back to him, his open armed welcome home is like nothing else I know of. My bitter ashes still taste awful, but they lead me to him for a fresh drink every morning. Only God can turn everyday stupidity into a supernatural goad for seeking him. Today's passages tell other ways he reaches down to give us a heads

1 Kings 22

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up. The Old Testament chapters Kings twenty two Negative news is difficult, but if it turns out to be true, being forewarned is forearmed. In King Ahab's case, his refusal to believe a piece of truth cost him his life. He asked his four hundred pagan prophets if he should attack enemy nation Aram to recover the city they stole from Israel. These prophets gave Ahab the go ahead, putting on a performance complete with bull mask and horns to enact how Israel would gore their enemies. But King Jehoshaphat of Judah, Ahab's ally, asked if there was a prophet of God they could ask to double check, because hearing what God said mattered most to him. Sadly, it didn't matter one whit to Ahab. He said there was Beniah, but he hated him because quote, he never prophesies anything good about me, end quote. So Ahab avoided him. Interestingly, Ahab didn't say it was because Beniah was wrong that he avoided him, it was because he didn't like it that Beniah never said anything good. But Ahab was notorious for living a wicked life without regard for what God said, except for one season of repentance there just wasn't anything good that could be said about him. The obvious problem wasn't with Benia, it was with Ahab. Sin confused him into believing that someone else was responsible for the messes he'd made. Beniah was brought in, but he said just the opposite of Ahab's prophets. Not only would Ahab not win a victory, he'd face his untimely death if he attacked Ben Hadad of Aram. But Ahab went to war anyway, disguised so he wouldn't be recognized and supported by Jehoshaphat, he attacked the city he wanted to take back, but a straight arrow found him, and he bled to death propped up in his chariot, watching the fighting. God's word never fails to come true. It's interesting to note that from the get go the king of Aram was gunning for Ahab. Rather than fighting Israel's soldiers, he told his men to go after Ahab only. This was how he repaid Ahab for sparing his life the last time they met, a sparing God had rebuked Ahab about. Ahab died like he lived, determined to do life his way. He had little fear of God or respect for what he said. Had he listened to Beniah and not attacked the city of Ramath Gilead, he'd not have died, nor would his blood have been drink for dogs, another prophecy that came true that day. It's tempting to think we can chart our own course and bring about the good life we want. Everybody tries to do it in one way or another, but only God has the power to give us the good life, and he lets us tap into his power by surrendering to him, but Ahab wouldn't, and it cost him his life. I'm intrigued that despite Ahab's determination to live life his own way, God kept dealing kindly with him throughout his lifetime. When was enough going to be enough so that God would move on and give up on him? Because it was kind that God sent lots of prophets to Ahab, who spoke God's words about how to live so that he had many chances to repent. It was kind that God gave him victory over enemies more powerful than he was in an effort to show him who God is. It was kind that God relented his judgment of Ahab when he finally repented near the end of his life, and it was kind that God gave Ahab a heads up that if he pursued war with Aram, his death was imminent. But none of these kindnesses led Ahab to a lasting repentance. That's the thing about sin. Over time it makes you deaf, dumb, and blind. You can't discern what truth is, you don't listen to those God sins, and you don't know who your friends are, let alone your enemies. Ahab locked up Beniah, wanted to kill Elijah, and ignored the other prophets God sent with his words. Ahab called them his enemies, but these men were his truest friends because they told him what God said. On the other hand, Ben Hadad was a snake in the grass who colluded to kill him, yet at one point Ahab had called him his brother. Clearly Ahab had no discernment, let alone common sense. Speaking from experience, God will let us persist in living our own way, while he gives us plenty of red flags and wake up calls as he did for Ahab, He lets us choose our own adventure, and He lets us live in sin for as long as it takes to get good and sick of it. Did Ahab repent as he stood propped up in his chariot, watching the battle before him? He had to know he was dying with the blood pooling at his feet. Even if he had repented, wasn't it too late? Nope. God was still waiting with open arms until Ahab's final breath. I know because of the story of the prodigal son in Luke, and because Jesus recommissioned Peter after his betrayal without a word of reproof, and because Jesus asked God to forgive his murderers even before they repented, pick just about any Bible character you can think of, and you'll see that grace was in place despite their sin. Even in the gory judgments of Revelation, God's desire is that people repent and come home to Him, not suffer and be lost without Him. You can turn down God's heads up to surrender, but you can't sin so badly that you can't be forgiven. All it takes is asking. The New Testament

Acts 13:13-43

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passage is Acts thirteen, thirteen to forty three. Paul gave a rundown of Jewish history up till Jesus, saying that his resurrection was the thing salvation hung on. Quote, it is on account of this resurrected Jesus that the forgiveness of your sins can be promised. What did Paul mean? Simply this. Jesus' resurrection proved he'd done what he came to do. He broke sin's hold over us, killed death, and connected us to the Father. That curtain being torn in the temple that kept unauthorized folks out of the Holy of Holies pointed to just this and was a nice touch. Breaking free of the sin I struggled with was impossible. Sin had me hog tied. The harder I tried to get free, the tighter my hog ties got. Despairing of being able to give this sin up, I gave up and I landed in Jesus' lap, whose goodness counted for me. It was then when what he did became precious to me because by it I was quote declared good and right and whole before God, end quote. Glory be. Can salvation be that simple? Yes, it is. And this is why so many people reject it. Nobody wants to be told they can't be good enough to earn it. I don't. It's a tad insulting really. I'd rather prove my own goodness without Jesus and make my own way to God, but I couldn't, and I can't. It's taken me a long time to really believe that Jesus is all I need. You can turn down Jesus heads up to save you, but if you're ever ready to accept it, all it takes is a hand of surrender held

Psalm 138, Prayer, Proverbs 17:15-16

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up from Psalm one hundred thirty eight. David gives thanks so big, loud and long that even the angels hear him. He thanks God for his love and faithfulness, for his holy name, for his words, for his help in the hard patch. The minute David needed a rescue, he had one, quote, the moment I called out you stepped in, you made my life large with strength, end quote. What's more he asked God to keep right on rescuing him, quote, with one hand strike my foes, with your other hand save me, don't quit on me now, end quote. We can always ask for help, regardless of how many times we've asked before. God's the grandfather with deep pockets, not the boss who keeps tabs on how many vacay days we've used up. In fact, we can't over ask. God doesn't tiss tisk about how often we need it. In fact, he does the opposite. What God held against his people was that they didn't come to him for help enough. This was his regular lament in the Old Testament, that Israel tried to find their own rescue elsewhere. They turned to other nations, other idols, other saviors, and all the while God was right there saying, Choose me. Knowing that God wants to help me and that he already knows what I need gives me confidence to keep on asking for his help. I don't have to ask him with just the right words, and I don't have to be living right in order to deserve it. You can turn down God's eternal heads up to save you, but wouldn't that be foolish? All those restarts and do overs are piled up just waiting to be asked for, and you don't have to feel badly that you don't deserve them. No one does. Prayer God, your never ending rescues and restarts are heartwarming. When I get a glimpse of you like I do this morning, I want to praise you till my windows rattle and the angels take notice. In Jesus' name, so be it. From Proverbs 17, 15 to 16. God hates slander as much as he hates sucking up. Refuse both. Fools wouldn't recognize wisdom, even if it popped up on their devices. Passages from 1 Kings, Acts, Psalms, and Proverbs are selected for today in the yearly Bible. This is Eve de Bartelaban, Robuck.