The Hand of God

King Asa has been the focus of my daily reading lately. He was a man of changing values. First he is faithfully serving God, then later in life he is bargaining with the enemy against his own people. He even mistreated the servant of God who brought a message from God.

Asa bargained with the enemy and the Lord spoke through Hanani that Asa had sinned because he did not rely on God but on the King of Aram for protection. You might think that Asa would have repented and made things right. No he didn't. Here is what the Lord said to him through the prophet Hanani as found in 2 Chronicles 16:7-10.

• Because you relied on man and not God, the enemy of God has escaped from your hand.

• Because you forgot how the Lord delivered you in the past you will be at war with your enemies.

• Because you were not fully committed in your heart to the Lord you will not be strengthened to fight your enemies.

Asa had done a foolish thing by relying on man and not God. It is still the same today. God is looking for people who are committed to Him. Those who are committed to Him can expect to see the hand of God revealed in their lives.

E- Mail Rage

Have you ever received an e-mail that made you mad? Maybe this e-mail was written in all caps or the tone of the e-mail was not very positive. What should you do?

According to Nance Guilmartin on CNN.com there are some things we can do to defuse "e-mail rage." One of the most interesting suggestions was to respond to the e-mail but don't use the reply button. Make sure the "To:" is left blank on the e-mail. This is a sure way to "vent" without doing irreparable damage. To view article in its entirety,

http://trackit.outreach.com/read/archive?id=6714&e=jharperwardenag%40qwestoffice.net&x=c44c8232

I like what Nance mentions before this in the article she mentions to stop and pray at least 30 seconds. That is what I call good advice. If we pray we may begin to understand what is really going on. Don't give in to rage, but pray.

Don't Bargain with Your Enemy

This morning I read the account of King Asa as he made a treaty with an enemy king. The interesting thing was that he hired the king of Aram to destroy his fellow Israelites. You can read about this in 2 Chronicles 16:1-3. There are three things that I want to point out about this story.

1. Asa thought that the money in the treasury was for his personal use. (He hired Aram to fight Baasha King of Israel)

2. Asa consulted the King of Aram before he consulted the Lord.

3. Asa thought he could buy his way out of trouble.

Is there ever a time that we should work together with the enemy to destroy our own flesh and blood? The answer is no.

Let us remember that people are not our real enemy, but our enemy is the devil himself.

Justice?

There is a lot of talk about justice these days. Everyone deserves this or that. My children even want justice as they say "it is not fair." So where can we expect to receive justice in this world?

Nowhere.

That's right the Bible tells us that many people are looking for justice from the leaders of our country, but all they end up with is a meeting. (Proverbs 29:26)

The one who gives justice doesn't live at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, the one who is just lives in Heaven. So the next time you are frustrated about what happens at the White House, go to God. God is the one who can and will give justice.

Missed Flight

As my family and I were driving to the airport in Houston I had this feeling we were not going to make our flight. Well I was right.

Not sure why this happened, but there is a reason. Maybe it was the perfect opportunity to stay calm in a potentially upsetting situation. I don't know, but we took it as a cue to "roll with the punches."

Can I encourage you to look for opportunities to "go with the flow" and not get upset? You will be glad you did.

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Thanks
John

Small Beginnings

Yesterday we went to two different churches. At both churches we have young people that were in our Youth Ministry while we were in Louisiana who are now involved in Youth Ministry. There is nothing in the world that makes me want to keep doing what I am doing more than this.

There are times when I wonder whether anyone heard what I said as I ministered. It turns out they were listening, and today they are serving the Lord.

Whatever you are doing for the Lord keep doing it, for you will reap if you will not faint.