The Simple Life

Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more evil than all who were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in the sins that he made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols. 1 Kings 16:25-26 (ESV) Why do we think that history will not repeat itself? Kings who ignore God and live for themselves destroy the nations they serve. It is a consistent pattern that can be easily seen. Yet, time and time again, the king begins to reign, inhales the opiate of the lying praise of the people, and puts himself against God and His plans and purposes. Few kings understood their responsibility to follow God and lead the people to God. If you remember, these monarchies were a position the people insisted on having. God's original plan was to have the nation ruled by the priests whom God ruled. This plan was rejected, and the results were devastating. Those who know God's plan and ignore it because they have...

Omri did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did more evil than all who were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in the sins that he made Israel to sin, provoking the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger by their idols. 1 Kings 16:25-26 (ESV) Why do we think that history will not repeat itself? Kings who ignore God and live for themselves destroy the nations they serve. It is a consistent pattern that can be easily seen. Yet, time and time again, the king begins to reign, inhales the opiate of the lying praise of the people, and puts himself against God and His plans and purposes. Few kings understood their responsibility to follow God and lead the people to God. If you remember, these monarchies were a position the people insisted on having. God's original plan was to have the nation ruled by the priests whom God ruled. This plan was rejected, and the results were devastating. Those who know God's plan and ignore it because they have...

And the word of the Lord came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, "Since I exalted you out of the dust and made you leader over my people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam and have made my people Israel to sin, provoking me to anger with their sins, behold, I will utterly sweep away Baasha and his house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Anyone belonging to Baasha who dies in the city the dogs shall eat, and anyone of his who dies in the field the birds of the heavens shall eat." 1 Kings 16:1-4 (ESV) Leaders have responsibility. They cannot shun it. They cannot pass it off. They cannot ignore it. If they do, there are dire consequences for both the people they were supposed to lead and themselves. The flesh loves to be fed the praise of the flesh, and finds a hollow satisfaction in the feeding process. This hollow satisfaction cannot last and leaves the finder desiring more and more praise, which eventually ...

When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, "Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us." 2 Kings  22:11-13  (ESV)   The king not only had God's Word read to him, but he also responded to it. So often, pride causes us to hear but not listen. We know what God's Word says, yet it does not apply to us, for if it did apply to us, we would be repenting and changing our ways.   Many young people will not change because they have never se...

And Judah did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins that they committed, more than all that their fathers had done. 1 Kings 14:22 (ESV) The pattern of ignoring God, doing evil, and seeing your potential lost is clearly seen in the history of God's people. God is God, and nothing we do or say will or can change that. Those who recognize this and live in accordance with this will live significant lives, and those who do not will live meaningless lives. Without God, we have no meaning, context, purpose, or understanding. A generation that grows up observing those who have ignored God is often condemned to repeat this ignorance, and the tragedy of such actions begins to travel through the generations, gaining compounding troubles as fortunes gain compounding interest. Change is both complicated and easy. It is hard because we need to admit we are wrong. It is easy because acknowledging that we are wrong is not that hard. We should not...

"And he will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he sinned and made Israel to sin." 1 Kings 14:16 (ESV) We do not want to believe that innocent people suffer because of another's actions, yet we can see that they do. Because God has given us a choice, which is not meaningless, our choices matter. Our choices will affect our lives and the lives of all those with whom we connect. For some reason, we want this different. We want a system where the innocent can remain unscarred, and the individual's sin would only affect that individual. This can only happen in a world without relationships, which does not exist. Jesus made it clear in Scripture that if my actions cause a little one to stumble, and they can, it might be better to have a millstone tied around my neck and have me thrown into an abyss. My choices affect others, and I will be accountable for how that works out. I need to live each day with this in mind. https://www.podbean.com/relate365

Go, tell Jeroboam, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: "Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over my people Israel and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, and yet you have not been like my servant David, who kept my commandments and followed me with all his heart, doing only that which was right in my eyes, but you have done evil above all who were before you and have gone and made for yourself other gods and metal images, provoking me to anger, and have cast me behind your back, therefore behold, I will bring harm upon the house of Jeroboam and will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both bond and free in Israel, and will burn up the house of Jeroboam, as a man burns up dung until it is all gone." 1 Kings 14:7-10 (ESV) God only asks us to obey Him and to love others. We can expect our lives to be most troublesome when we refuse to do both. https://www.podbean.com/relate365