While the story of Elisha calling down a curse on the young people is somewhat comical, it really underscores something important.  It's not simply a morbid Old Testament account.  Truly, Elisha had been given a calling by God, and it was his responsibility to follow the through.  The young men who were mocking him were challenging God's call. ... [Continue Reading]

The death of Jehoram was anything but sad.  In fact, the Bible says that "he departed with no one's regret" (2 Chronicles 21:20).  I guess the idea of departure is on my mind right now because I'm preparing to depart Brazil and head back to the United States... permanently.  It's Wednesday morning (this blog entry is time-delayed), ... [Continue Reading]

Who has the permission to speak truth into your life?  For Ahab, nobody did.  He was so concerned about hearing only the news that he wanted to hear, that he ignored the voices of the prophets who spoke truth to him.  The problem is that it's easy to listen to the voices of people who tell us what we want to hear.  But when they tell us what we ... [Continue Reading]

I can't imagine what it must have been like for the Israelites as they watched the little scene unfold on top of Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal battles against Elijah.  The prophets were dancing around, slashing themselves with whips, and doing everything in their might to receive the attention of their god.  Morning, noon, and night this took place ... [Continue Reading]

If you’ve seen The Lord of the Rings, then you have an idea about the Eye of Sauron and the Eye of Mordor and how these eyes were constantly watching and seeing what was going on.  In a similar way (albeit non-creepy), 2 Chronicles 16:9 describes the eyes of the Lord and how they are watching to give support to those people whose hearts are blameless toward the ... [Continue Reading]