Skip to main content

We're Wrong


 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal." So to, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it annot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. (Romans 11:1-6)
          Do you ever feel like you’re alone, like you’re the only one who gets it, the only one who cares? I do. Even as I think it, I know it’s a lie, but the pity party has been cued. Elijah felt that way. You probably know the story. Elijah challenged the priests of Baal to a “My God’s Bigger Than Your God” contest. It seems as if all Israel was in the stands. The priests of Baal give it their best shot…nothing. Elijah handicaps his side by pouring lots of water over the sacrifice, the wood, the ground… and offers a simple prayer. Fire falls and consumes everything he’d drenched. The people begin their chant, “The Lord, He is God…The Lord, He is God.” Four hundred priests of Baal are executed.
         One woman said, “I’m going to kill you for that.” Granted, she was the queen, but that was all it took. Elijah ran for the hills. He hid in the mountains, complaining to God that he was all alone and asking God to kill him. It wasn’t just that he wanted to die – if that had been the case, he could have surrendered to Jezebel. He wanted to die before she could kill him. Elijah went from “My God’s Bigger Than Your God” to “Kill me before she does,” and from Israel chanting “The Lord, He Is God” to Elijah chanting, “I’m all alone” in days.
         God’s answer to Elijah was rest, refreshment, and reassurance. The reassurance came in two parts. First, God showed Elijah that He’s still God. After that, He told Elijah that his perception was off. Elijah wasn’t alone. God had a remnant. God always has a remnant. He saved a remnant from the flood. He saved a remnant from Sodom and Gomorrah. He kept remnants all along the way. Though some people love to proclaim that the Church is full of sin and hypocrisy, God has a remnant. When we feel as if we’re alone, we may need rest and refreshment, but we also need reassurance that we're wrong.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen To Him

              The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him . (Deuteronomy 18:15)           Today, we switch from Jesus’ claims of “I am” to prophecies made about Him. My Bible platform is starting in Deuteronomy. I’d start in Genesis, where we would learn that the one who would save us would be a descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15), of Noah (by default), Abram and Sara(Genesis 12:1-3). Isaac (Genesis 17:19), Jacob (Genesis 25:23), Judah (Genesis 29:8), and David (II Samuel 7:12-16). There were also references to a new covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:22-32). In addition, there were prophecies about when and where the prophet/Messiah would be born and what would happen to him.           Of course, naysayers will claim that Jesus’ life was retrofitted or reverse enginee...
Post a Comment
Read more