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I Kings 19:11-13 “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake; And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?”

II Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

My wife started feeling contractions during the birth of our first child early on a Sunday morning. They were spaced out sufficiently such that we were confident that we could go to church before going to the hospital. We created a carefully designed and calibrated monitoring and control system to ensure that we were tracking the situation. My wife would nudge me with her elbow every time she had a contraction, and I would diligently keep track of the spacing based on the nudges. It was simple, but functional.

Before the church service, we went to our large adult Sunday School class, and the teacher’s (and associate pastor’s) wife ended up sitting immediately behind us. The lesson was on the importance of marital fidelity.

The lesson started, and it was a fiery one based on the topic. Our teacher was rightfully stressing the importance of the issue, while Melonie and I were listening. All the while, she was nudging me (for the timing of the contractions) and I was tracking them. It wasn’t until a few nudge-cycles in, conspicuously timed just after a particular admonition on fidelity to the men, that we realized what it must have looked like to our teacher’s wife in the seats behind us. When the class ended, we ensured that she knew what was going on with the nudges and that they had nothing to do with concerns about fidelity.

How is the Lord nudging you today?

It comes through His still small voice and through the reading and preaching of His Word. It is a carefully designed and calibrated monitoring and control system that helps us to know what is right, what is not right, to stay right, and to get right. It is designed for our growth, maturity, protection and provision, and we are foolish to ignore it.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO DILIGENTLY AND RESPONSIVELY LISTEN TO GOD’S NUDGES IN OUR LIVES. Those nudges are a carefully designed and calibrated monitoring and control system designed to give birth to righteousness, impact, and human flourishing.

I Kings 2:1-3 “Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself”

Proverbs 1:1-4 “The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.”

I Kings 3:12 “Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.”

Solomon’s wisdom is unmatched, and his authorship of Proverbs through God’s inspiration provides a textbook on wisdom, instruction, perception, understanding, justice, judgment, knowledge, and discretion. Its 31 chapters of divine wisdom are priceless.

And while it is certainly true that God’s direct gifts played a massive role in Solomon’s wisdom, God’s indirect gifts were significant as well. They came in the form of David’s investment in the learning of his son.

I Kings Chapter 2 reveals David’s last charge to Solomon. It was one final time for David to impart wisdom, instruction, perception, understanding, justice, judgment, knowledge, and discretion. And, it’s a powerful reminder that we all have a multi-generational responsibility to share divine truths with those in our spheres of influence and realms of impact. Nowhere is such deliberate and intentional investment more important than in our families and to our sons and daughters.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY TO FULFILL OUR MULTI-GENERATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES. Our intentional investment can provide a textbook for wisdom, instruction, perception, understanding, justice, judgment, knowledge, and discretion.

Happy Father’s Day Weekend!

Judges 3:14-16 “So the children for Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years. But when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD, the LORD raised them up a deliverer, Ehud the son of Gera, a Benjamite, a man lefthanded: and by him the children of Israel sent a present unto Eglon the king of Moab. But Ehud made him a dagger which had two edges, of a cubit length; and he did gird it under his raiment upon his right thigh.”

Judges 3:21 “And Ehud put forth his left hand, and took the dagger from his right thigh, and thrust it into his belly”

II Corinthians 12:8-10 “For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”

The Lord shares an interesting detail with us about the second Judge – Ehud. He was left-handed.

It those days, being left-handed was seen as a form of a handicap. Yet, as we read on further about Ehud we discover that he took the dagger hidden under his raiment on his right thigh and using his left hand slew the conquering king that had ruled over God’s people for eighteen years. The Lord used that apparent handicap as the means of deliverance for His people.

The power of the Lord rested upon him, and Ehud’s strength was made perfect in weakness!

The same can be true for us today. It should compel us cling to the truths of II Corinthians. His grace is sufficient for us. May we gladly glory in our infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon us.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO CLING TO GOD’S POWER REGARDLESS OF OUR INFIRMITIES, REPROACHES, NECESSITIES, PERSECUTIONS, AND DISTRESSES. Through the Lord, an apparent handicap can be a source of deliverance.

Numbers 14:1-4 “And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Isarel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.”

Numbers 14:6-10 “And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes: And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not. But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.”

Moses sent twelve spies into the promised land to scout it out before the masses were to enter in. All of them recognized that it was a glorious land of provision and prosperity. Ten of the spies, however, were transfixed on the burdens, the challenges, and the threats that they saw as insurmountable. Joshua and Caleb, on the other hand, knew that their Lord was able to overcome the burdens, and the challenges, and the threats, and that the magnificent riches that awaited them only required the faithfulness of God’s people.

Siding with fear over faith was rightfully described as rebellion against God.

The faithless response of God’s people was stifling. They conspired to murder Caleb and Joshua – the ones who had brought them the good news. Additionally, they launched a plan to return to slavery and servitude at the hands of the Egyptians. Their rebellious spirit magnified their vision of the burdens, challenges, and threats, and minimized their ability to see the plans of their all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful God. As a result, they were condemned to wander in the wilderness for the next four decades.

In our lives, we must have positive influences that help us keep our eyes on the provision and prosperity provided by Providence. Yet, it is easy to fall into the trap and temptation that would cause us to magnify the burdens, challenges, and threats while minimizing our ability to see the plans of our all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful God. We must remember that siding with fear over faith is rightfully considered as rebellion against God.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO FAITHFULLY LOOK PAST THE BURDENS, THE CHALLENGES AND THE THREATS TO THE MAGNIFICENCE OF OUR MIGHTY LORD. We are far better off faithfully following Him than endlessly wandering in the wilderness because of our rebellious fear.

ADMIN: I won’t be posting a PLUS next Saturday, and will return with a post on June 7^th. In the meanwhile, please keep praying for our great nation!

Isaiah 30:21 “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.”

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

I had a scary experience during my driver’s ed training. In my small town in Washington State, the high school had a program for budding drivers and I did mine over the summertime. The course consisted of in-class instruction and then randomly chosen groups that would go out practice-driving together with an instructor. I was paired with three girls: Pam, Patti, and Stacey.

Practice driving is already an elevated risk activity, and being trapped in a car that is being driven by another student driver exacerbates the concern. There was an additional element of the process that made it even more nerve-racking – the three other members of my group weren’t confident that they knew their left from their right.

As a result, before each driving session, all three girls used a Sharpie to write a big L on their left hand and a big R on their right hand. That way, when the instructor told them to turn left or right at the next intersection, they could look at their hands (which should be somewhere close to the 10 o’clock and 2 o’clock positions on the steering wheel) and know which way to turn. The entire endeavor was an interesting experience, but I suppose at least those girls understood the importance of going in the proper direction.

For all of us in life, it is critically important that we are going in the proper direction!

God is constantly directing us to follow the correct path and go in the proper way. We are to seek Him first and keep our gaze firmly fixed on Him. When we do, we will know our right from our left and the wise way to go.

PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO BE CONSTANTLY SENSITIVE TO GOD’S GUIDANCE IN OUR LIVES. We must remain headed in the proper direction.